Sundays In My City~ A Sprucing Up!

I apologize for not getting my SIMC up until now...
but i had a hockey game to watch (wink wink!)!

Last week, we spruced up the livingroom with a new coat of paint.
This week, we spruced up our kiddos with haircuts.

Bubble blowing (in containers that do not spill--super clever!) and cool chairs to sit in!

Beebo gets a trim. She's not interested in giving up the locks. Xman is in NEED of a cut. His hair is really fine, so i've been worried he'll be patchy.

Xman sat surprisingly well. He was in LOVE with the buzzer and giggled with delight!


Kiddos after their cuts! Beebo even had some hairspray/sparkles in her hair (i couldn't resist buying a can as they make for awesome fairy play) that just shone in the sun. Xman looks like a much older boy...


Love the spikes!


Be sure to visit Unknown Mami!
Thank you so much for hosting.

First some Awards to hand out...

The last few Fridays i have participated in the "Friday Follow" and have enjoyed meeting so many new people and reading snippets into their lives. Since the Olympics are on the go in Canada, i was ecstatic to see local-to-me, 'Calgary Daddy' had created an event with equal gusto!

Come and meet the Gold Medal Mom's- choose 5 of my faves--in no particular order.

1~ Adventures in Vineland~ love wine? Meet one couple and their trials and tribulations in creating a true vintage!

2~ The Fifty Factor~ Pop in to visit Joanna, as she searches for her identity and life after 50.

3~ The UnMom~ Keely is another Canuck, who just makes me giggle so much!

4~ Home Cooking With Sonya~ all i can say, is that she posts too much YUMMY stuff. I could get fat just reading her blog!

5~ Adventures of a Wanna-Be Supah Mommy~ Just read her 'About Me' and you'll see why she's cracka-lacken cool! Fun read for sure!

Hope you'll enjoy visiting these blogs as much as i do! This is just a handful of awesome blogs i have in my reader...

Broaden Your Reader(ship)~ Week#7

Time to seek out more fabulous blogs!

Ready, Set, GO!~

See where the buttons takes you...

~Plz feel free to read my archives, or some of my 'new' pages up top! I am in the process of rearranging a bit, but i look forward to hopping around Bloggyland to meet you all!~

Special thanks to Midday Escapades, Hearts Make Families, One 2 Try and Trendy Treehouse for hosting this event.

Canadians Love their Timmy's!

I am not sure how many of you get to see Canuck commercials during these Olympics (i'm guessing no?), but this one turns me into a blubbering idiot by the end. Stick a fork in me, i'm done.

A Little Prayer...

Our father, who art in GM place, HOCKEY be thy name. Thy will be done, GOLD will be won on ice as well as in the stands. Give us this day, our Hockey sticks and forgive us our penalties, as we forgive those who crosscheck against us. Lead us not into elimination, but deliver us to victory. In the name of the fans, Canada, and the hockey puck. Amen.

~anonymous~


BTW~ did anyone notice our Canuck ladies KICK ASS yesterday?? A gold and a silver in women's two-women bobsleigh...A silver in Short-track speed skating relay...AND, a bronze in the 5000m Long-track speed skating! GREAT job ladies!

Tonight we await the Canada/USA Women's Hockey Gold final, as well as, Joannie Rochette's long program in Women's Figure Skating (her mother died suddenly this week, poor girl). Good Luck!

~Doodles~

Artwork by Beebo, age *almost* 4

Anything look familiar in this picture??
(psst...it's E.T. going to his spaceship!)

Tell Me- Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Okay, so the only inquiring mind is mine...

"What is your MOST hated chore and why??"

I used to think that bathrooms were sucky to clean. These days, i don't mind it. After all, it is ACTUAL mess and dirt and filth that are REAL.

I HATE sweeping and vacuumming ten thousand times a day... i really need a Roomba. I guess i hate crumbs. And all things crumby. I wish i had a dog that ONLY visited at mealtimes. I wish i could make my kiddos clean up the crumbs, but they just don't seem to care. This repetitive, never ending task seriously could send me to the loonie bin!

*Folding laundry for four, comes a close hated second!*

So, tell me tell me.

I know you are dying to.

Hockey Smockey! It's really about this...

After last night's HORRIBLE hockey game, this has brought me new peace today.

Thank you ThisBird'sDay!~




It's okay USA... you played a much better game last night than we did. In fact, i am not even sure what we did last night could be considered hockey! I congratulate you on the win.

We are neighbours AND healthy rivals!!

Sundays In My City~Cut, Cut, Cut

We have to be careful about when we say we'll be wanting to do something--if this guy catches wind of it, he just starts emptying the room!


Helping DaddyO carry things out.


Eating lunch at an end table.


Colouring, and being good little kiddos...


Can we say cut?? OMG--cut, cut and more cutting. Barely room for a roller width!


And another picture of the big big windows! Usually, it is too sunny to have them un-sheered...so i guess i got picture happy!


Yes, how many times did we retrieve him from the top of the ladder??


Mostly the same colour family, a few tones deeper.


Almost there!


Done!


Difference in colour shown here.
Now we'll need to stain the fir something darker. Any ideas?

Voila! Nothing like slapping on some new paint to refresh a room.



How did you spend your Sunday? Join the gang, hosted by Unknown Mami.

It's Cleaning Day!~ NEED Motivation!

DaddyO is out AND he took the kids.
I am off to clean the washrooms, mop the floors, scrub some toilets and wipe ENDLESS fingerprints off the glass, walls and doors.
AH, the joys of having children!

Best part- MommyO gets to blast her music!
Since MOST of you probably do not want to hear the wordless house music i have on the go,

G n' R is next on the agenda.

Enjoy!~

The Izzy Doll

"Izzy Doll"

I travel to you in pockets!
I'm just a little soft thing;
Made with love and care.
My home will be a boy or girl
The place is - Everywhere!

I bring a smile and comfort,
When cuddled by a child.
My payment is the feeling
When the giver gets a smile.

That smile is there for all to see,
The feeling lives inside;
A memory of where I came from
Is shared to you with pride.

"To make a memory, you have to be there"

Carol Isfeld 12 Jul 1999

Yesterday, i showed you a picture of my cousin handing out "Izzy Dolls" in Haiti. The "Izzy Doll" was created by Mark Isfeld's mother, Carol. While Mark had been serving peacekeeping missions in other countries, he had seen that children often had no toys or belongings; a reality of war. His mother whipped up a little hand crocheted doll... a whole box worth, and sent them with Mark on his next mission. Mark eventually lost his life on June 21, 1994 (Croatia) to a landmine, but the tradition of making and handing out these dolls lives on.

I have asked my Canadian Facebook friends if they'd like to join in to help knit/crochet these little dolls. My cousin will be contacting me as to where we can send all our dollies. I hope to enlighten and make aware this beautiful tradition. It really can mean more than imagined, to a little one who has lost all hope.

If you knit or crochet and are a Canuck who would like to help- please let me know (a comment with an email address). The patterns for these dolls may be found here.

I thank you, in advance.


*ps* this is a great link, to see some more examples of how the dolls can look!

Helping Out

A picture of my cousin in Haiti (as part of Canadian troops), handing out dolls to kids in the hospital.

We are so proud of your efforts!

Become a Virtual Sportscaster

Feel like having a little bit of fun?

Visit the CTV website, to record your own play-by-play!

Save the video and show it to family and friends

OR...

Submit the video for a chance to be broadcast!~

NeatO!

But, be nice! Not-so-nice video entries will not be shown.

Canadian Olympian of the Day

In case you didn't know, Canada has hosted the Olympic games three times...YET- we have the dubious honour of never having won a Gold medal on Canadian soil. We have been waiting for so long!

Last night, we saw that yucky cloud hanging over our heads--disappear!~

Alexandre Bilodeau became our 1st Gold Medalist of this games, and has earned himself a place in history as our 1st Gold on home turf ever!

The story of this athlete gets even better. Alexandre has an older brother named Frederic, who has cerebral palsy and was told he would not walk past the age of 10. Today, he is still defying the odds walking AND skiing some of the biggest runs at home in Quebec at the age of 28.

What makes this brotherly love so special??

These brothers were skaters and lovers of hockey (gasp-in Canada? imagine). But skating became too hard for Frederic. Their parents told Alexandre that they needed to find something that they could all do as a family. And so, he changed sports from skating to skiing.

Frederic is Alexandre's biggest fan; in turn, Frederic is Alexandre's hero. Together they make a pretty good team!

WAY TO GO CANADA!
and HUGE congrats to Alexandre!

~Sundays In My City~

I would like to preface by saying that while the Olympics are on, i will, most likely...actually, certainly, neglect my blog. I could happily watch 16 days of competition in my pj's and forget about every other facet of my life... how often do we get thrown such an array of events?

Since Calgary (1988) was our last host city for the Olympic games, when the torch made its way through Cowtown, they stopped along the way to light all previous game sites. At the ski hill where we ski, there is a small cauldron...

And well, since we have ski jump, bobsled, skeleton and luge tracks at our disposal, perhaps we'll be seeing one of our kiddos at the 2022 games?
Start them early!!

I have been asked by a few fellow bloggers what I actually thought about our opening ceremonies. I guess i would happily assume that you all saw the same splendid displays that i watched; however i know that is not true. Rita @ One2Try, has a hubby who was a cameraman for the event. He told her things to watch for, on the week leading up to the ceremony. Did she see any of that?? NO. Apparently, the opening ceremony was terribly chopped and edited for you fellow Americans. While you may have seen totems, did you actually see them come out of the floor??
Our visuals (think whales and salmon swimming across the floor) and our music (think Ashley MacIssac and our tatted fiddlers) were stunning and unique. I *think* we gave the world a pretty good glimpse into Canadian culture. Our First Nations have been given all controlling rights for these games, a first ever in history. After all, they were here first. We are a truly multicultural country- proud and strong. Not too many out there quite like us! I will say though, i am a little miffed at where we left our French connections this ceremony? (aside from the language) But ah--that's just one more 'healthy' thing for us to argue about for the next few decades.

Did YOU like our opening ceremony?

Were you happy with how we decided to light our Olympic cauldron? And yes, we know that the hydraulics on the 4th arm of the cauldron did not come up. BUT, we did have fun making fun of ourselves A LOT the next day! (btw, Canucks make fun of ourselves better than any other country could!)

Games on!...Good Luck to All of your respective countries!

Visit Unknown Mami and the rest of the gang, to see what is up this Valentine's Sunday!

Who Will Be the Final Torchbearer?

Cindy Klassen~ highly decorated speed skater.


The Great One...nuff said.


Betty Fox. Terry Fox's mother.


Kurt Browning~ figure skater.


David Suzuki~ Environmentalist.


Who will be given this highly coveted role?

I can't wait to see!! There are PLENTY of deserving Canucks!

Guesses Abound!