Surprise! It's a baby! (Not long now!)

[Alysa]

Hi Brenda, thank you for thinking of me! 127 days can't come soon enough. You know the expression "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all?" Yeah, that's why I've been missing lately. I've been so frustrated I didn't even want to do a movie night this weekend! And you know that means things are not great lately.
Got to count my blessings, right?
1. Cute husband who loves me
2. Three adorable, smart, healthy children
3. Good friends (including you!)
4. Lost 5 of my 25 ponds, despite not running this week and having a veggie burger on a bun, a (much needed) strawberry daiquiri, and cheesecake last night to celebrate my mum's birthday.
5. Live in a beautiful country.
6. Books, Doctor Who and tea.
I don't want to whine about how everything seems to be going wrong lately so I'll just wait and fill you in on how I survived once it is over. That will be soon, right? Sun's going to come out any moment, I know it. It's got to.

We have 140 days (and 20 hours) on our countdown. I might make a paper chain for 100 and down.... in my free time
I have the scones marked down as a must make for Brave night. We haven't watched it since we went to see it in the theatre. He has a lot of other Disney catching up to do as well!
I adore your Alice tea party - I want an excuse to thrown a full blown mad tea party at some point. Maybe when my honorary niece is a little older ....
Slàinte maith, h-uile latha, na chi 'snach fhaic!
and good luck with your weight loss/exercise journey!

Looking forward to hearing about the movie nights and seeing the countdown chain!

Ha! Wonder bread smells like donuts! I suppose when you start eliminating bread it begins to look very tasty.
Great job with your running!!! I think you look great. (reference your family photo for the Chinese New Year??) I haven't had a baby in 17 years so I don't have an excuse... other than people on these Disboards who post recipes of scones and yummy things like that!!
The Alice theme is well done once again! The tiny sandwiches and cakes - again, brilliant! Have a great weekend!

Sorry I've fallen a bit behind here... I can't imagine having food allergies - we are very fortunate that we don't have any here. I really hope you are able to get it figured out soon.
Just stopping by to wish you a Happy Mother's Day!
D~

Hi D, thank you - hope you had a great day too! Wouldn't that be fabulous if the kids outgrew the allergies? Especially the dairy one, milk is in everything!

Happy Mother's Day

Thank you my dear!

 

[emmysmommy]

Hi Brenda, thank you for thinking of me! 127 days can't come soon enough. You know the expression "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all?" Yeah, that's why I've been missing lately. I've been so frustrated I didn't even want to do a movie night this weekend! And you know that means things are not great lately.
Got to count my blessings, right?
1. Cute husband who loves me
2. Three adorable, smart, healthy children
3. Good friends (including you!)
4. Lost 5 of my 25 ponds, despite not running this week and having a veggie burger on a bun, a (much needed) strawberry daiquiri, and cheesecake last night to celebrate my mum's birthday.
5. Live in a beautiful country.
6. Books, Doctor Who and tea.
I don't want to whine about how everything seems to be going wrong lately so I'll just wait and fill you in on how I survived once it is over. That will be soon, right? Sun's going to come out any moment, I know it. It's got to.

I'm so sorry about your week Alysa. I love your blessings list, you certainly have some wonderful things to bring some cheer. But I understand that sometimes there's just circumstances and life events that conspire to steal our peace and joy. I hope this all passes quickly. Also thinking of your DH with the whole job thing... not sure it that worked out for his area of specialty.

Hang in there!

The sun'll come out
Tomorrow
So ya gotta hang on
'Til tomorrow
Come what may
Tomorrow! Tomorrow!
I love ya Tomorrow!
You're always
A day
A way!

 

[abbybeth]

sorry things are crazy right now ... but yes, it'll come to an end.

Hang in there!!

 

[Alysa]

Well! What a heck of a month!
Harold thought he had a new job lined up at Princess Margaret Hospital here in Toronto but the funding fell through. Then his boss offered him an extension on his job in his current lab while he searches for a job because his boss really likes him and thinks he's brilliant (which he is) and then the funding they got for THAT fell through too because the grant was only supposed to be used by post-docs that had been working for 5 years or less and he is at 9 years. Ugh! So now as of today it looks like he is back on track with a special grant from the university. That will last until Christmas so he has another 6 months to find his position and if he does not get one then he is going to med school and I am going back to work to support us.
Anyway, everything is going to work out and be fine. I know it! Sheer force of will.

I was so stressed this week I didn't run at all so no weight loss this week. Tomorrow. I am paying the kids $2 a week each to go with me so that should help.

Obviously I needed a bit of retail therapy this week. We put in a fun above ground pool, just one of those 12 foot ones from Wal-mart.

So we went out to the Gap and found Eveie a new bathing suit. When Harold saw her in it he begged her to take it back to the store. Poor guy. While we were there we got her another pair of shorts, a sun dress and a sun hat. It was a toddler hat but it fit her little wee head just fine. Anyone else find that Gap hats run large? We also got Robbie a cute little baseball hat for the sun and some sandals now that he is crawling around so fast everywhere. He will totally be walking by the trip if he keeps it up.

So tonight, now that I know that things were going to be okay again, at least until Christmas, we finished off a couple of movie nights. Ages ago with The Fox and the Hound the kids had asked to see the sequel as well which they have watched at their grandfather's so we made a lovely blueberry pie to go with it. I used this recipe and it was fabulous. Instead of a regular crust I cut out stars with a cookie cutter and layered them for something a little prettier.

For the craft we had another animation lesson and Toby had drawn Todd and Copper. We found a great site for learning how here. Well tonight I finally scanned the sketch and printed them off on card stock and Toby did a quote inside them. Instant stationary! I used turquoise stationary from the dollar store but it was glossy and didn't print very well so watch out for that if you are shopping for yours.

For Meet the Robinsons we had an easy night two weeks ago. I made sun-nut butter and jam sandwiches

and for dessert, bowler hats!

I found the idea here. For the craft, tonight I finally had Toby draw his own invention (a time machine) while Eveie was at skating.

Sorry about how dark the photos are, Harold added a new flash to the camera and I haven't figure out how to use it yet.

Last week I was sick, sick, sick. I had promised the kids a movie night and on Friday we did the dinner for Mary Poppins but by Saturday morning I was cooked with the most horrific sore throat and migraine headache (stress, maybe). Anyway, my rock star husband did the crafts with them anyway while I slept most of the day Saturday. I have all the supplies for the next few nights in a storage basket in the cupboard so he asked me what I had planned to do and then he went and did them and he even took photos!

He found the plans for the kite here and it was a windy day and he said it flew fantastic.

For the dinner we had a traditional nursery supper of steak and kidney pudding, I found the recipe here and everyone liked it so much I went out to find a pudding basin to make it easier to cook from now on.

For dessert we had bread pudding. We tried a recipe from here that said it was from Raglan Road in Downtown Disney but it was almost inedible. I don't know if I did something wrong but it was so over sweet even the kids didn't like it. The custard and caramel sauces were amazing but I had tonnes left over so I tried a new recipe during the week. This one from here rocked and if you combine it with the Raglan Road sauces it is out of this world delicious comfort food. It's the first recipe from an Amish cookvbook, not the second which sounds more like the Raglan Road one (ooo, I almost forgot, I added an extra cup of torn french bread because it didn't look like enough, in case that makes a difference in the recipe). I'm sorry I didn't do a new photo - I had intended to take a photo of the leftovers and the kids and Harold ate it so fast, they ate it ALL before I had a chance. But it is so good I think I'll have to make a new one and I'll do a new photo then.

I'm so sorry about your week Alysa. I love your blessings list, you certainly have some wonderful things to bring some cheer. But I understand that sometimes there's just circumstances and life events that conspire to steal our peace and joy. I hope this all passes quickly. Also thinking of your DH with the whole job thing... not sure it that worked out for his area of specialty.
Hang in there!
The sun'll come out
Tomorrow
So ya gotta hang on
'Til tomorrow
Come what may
Tomorrow! Tomorrow!
I love ya Tomorrow!
You're always
A day
A way!

Love you Brenda, you are awesome!

sorry things are crazy right now ... but yes, it'll come to an end. Hang in there!!

Thanks Abby! I know you're right. I've just got to hold on. What is that expression? When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot and hold on?

 

[emmysmommy]

Oh what a treat for my evening, an Alysa update!!

I hope you are feeling better. That's awesome that Harold organized the craft project with the kids AND took photos!

I'm so sorry for the stress of not knowing what the future holds for your brilliant husband....I have to believe that good things happen to good people so I will keep wishing and hoping that the perfect solution to the job situation is well worth the wait!

I saw the video of your wee one turning over and crawling with that huge grin on his face. It was so adorable and brought me back to a very endearing and sentimental place that I have not been in over 17 years due to my brood being practically all grown and gone. I agree with you, I think Robbie will be walking by your trip this fall.

Wishing you a lovely weekend!

 

[Alysa]

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! Poor Harold was having serious stress issues so I packed him off to the river for some fly fishing with his buddies. Eveie and I did movie night crafts while Toby was at birthday parties Saturday and Sunday.

On Saturday she finished off a handkerchief she had been working on for a couple of weeks for Pinocchio. It's a bit hard to see but it says "When you wish upon a star."

For the snack we made shortbread stars, decorated them with yellow icing and added wooded skewers for Blue Fairy wands. Easy.

On Sunday we did Harry Potter and I gave Eveie a drawing lesson using grids. We found an owl image owl online here which was nice because it had a link to the original photo the artist used as well so she could see the artistic choices the artist had made. I know some people feel using a grid is cheating but it's nice for kids who are just getting going with drawing because they can see how well they can draw if they just LOOK. Plus around 10-12, kids start to get frustrated and give up on art when they realize that their drawings look nothing like the real thing so this technique can help them over that hump.

For the snacks I made a little red bag out of some scraps left over from the Incredibles craft I have coming up which I used for a Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Bean Bag and I tied it with a little bit of gold braiding I had left over from a figure skating costume. For Eveie's 8th birthday we had done a super elaborate birthday party and I had ordered chocolate frog molds from ebay which I reused and I printed off little boxes from here. For the butterbeer I used this recipe from here. We haven't been to Universal yet so I can't tell whether it is a close match but I found it ridiculously sweet so I made mine with milk instead of cream soda. The kids preferred the soda while Harold liked mine but said it needed to be carbonated to be like beer. With milk it tasted much more like I imagined when reading the books which I loved. If anyone wants ideas for a similar party let me know and I'll tell you about the birthday.

Oh what a treat for my evening, an Alysa update!!
I hope you are feeling better. That's awesome that Harold organized the craft project with the kids AND took photos!
I'm so sorry for the stress of not knowing what the future holds for your brilliant husband....I have to believe that good things happen to good people so I will keep wishing and hoping that the perfect solution to the job situation is well worth the wait!
I saw the video of your wee one turning over and crawling with that huge grin on his face. It was so adorable and brought me back to a very endearing and sentimental place that I have not been in over 17 years due to my brood being practically all grown and gone. I agree with you, I think Robbie will be walking by your trip this fall.
Wishing you a lovely weekend!

Thanks Brenda, it was so lovely to see your smiling face on facebook! Harold got together two more applications this weekend. Something will turn up, I know it, we just have to have faith. Thanks for the comment about Robbie. I think you are right, we turned around yesterday evening and saw he had climbed up and was standing on the second step of our staircase!

 

[abbybeth]

more fab dinner themes! I need to get going on those soon or Ryan will end up feeling like we're having a marathon Disney cram session ... don't really want to make the poor guy loathe Disney before we even get there!

 

[Turbanator]

Ewan is nice, in the uk the others are a little old fashined by comparison

 

[Alysa]

more fab dinner themes! I need to get going on those soon or Ryan will end up feeling like we're having a marathon Disney cram session ... don't really want to make the poor guy loathe Disney before we even get there!

I was actually just saying to Harold that these movie nights have really helped me with learning to cook which I was never very good at before, so that has been a great thing. "Anyone can cook!"

Ewan is nice, in the uk the others are a little old fashioned by comparison

Ummmm. Well welcome anyway!

Over on the craft board today during Robbies nap (I know, I know, I should have been doing laundry, but a relatively stress-free mummy is also handy at home) I saw the cutest little autograph pen and then I saw this article on pintrest. New craft idea for the kids coming up!

 

[Millie12591]

Looks like you've had some fun shopping!

Loooove the outfits you found for the kids.

You have such a great eye for what's in, wish you lived closer to help me decorate my house.

 

[Tink-erin-belle]

Hi, Alysa! Your movie days are always so cool! I especially loved the croquet for Alice in Wonderland! I’m glad that things are looking a little better with your hubby’s job, but I am sorry to hear the one that he got initially had the funding fall through! I’m keeping my fingers crossed that he will find something good (and permanent!) by the time Christmas rolls around It’s hard to always keep a positive attitude when things like that happen, but it sounds like you are keeping your spirits up! Retail therapy never hurts! The outfits you got for the kids are adorable! And I am so jealous of you (and Ann) for having an above ground pool! I would never get out of it if I had one in my backyard! I’m glad you guys came in from the pool and did these awesome movie nights! Your idea to have the kids sketch an invention for your Meet the Robinsons night was really cool. Eveie drew that picture of Hedwig? Wow!

 

[-Hope-]

Hi Alysa! I'm too far behind to truly catch up but I love your movie nights, the blurry fairy wands are so cute! I want to do a Harry Potter party before our trip but haven't managed to pull it together yet. :

Sorry to see that you and hubby are in a similar situation as we are. I know we'll be fine eventually (and you will too!!) but the uncertainty is tough, at least for me. I like KNOWING, or at least having that false sense of knowing, how things will work out. I hope he finds something quickly!

 

[emmysmommy]

Happy Sunday Alysa! I have to say that I think I could do the blue fairy wands with the star shaped sugar cookie on a stick but regrettably I would likely eat all the cookies before they got to wand state!

Being married to someone who is gifted and creative like you as well as Emmy who is very artistic, I just don't think my brain functions like you guys. I may be able draw from a grid but beyond that no way! I am still in awe of your creative abilities!

Had my boys been little enough to be into Harry Potter when the books were first published in the 90's, they would have loved your recent theme.

 

[Alysa]

Tonight we had a fun impromptu Hoop-de-doo dinner. Harold's Dad came over for a barbeque and we made ribs and chicken, corn bread, beans, corn on the cob, salad and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Ooh and I was cross because I bought a gingham tablecloth from the Supercentre, I had Eveie set the table all lovely outside and then there was a crazy sunshower while I was upstairs feeding the baby and it turns out the table cloth was paper! So it was ruined! Argh.

Okay so I have two movie nights to update. Last week we did Despicable Me in honour of Father's Day. Harold loves that movie and it is all about becoming a great dad. I was inspired by this photo

for the craft which Toby did but we got everyone to sign (the back is covered with Robert scribbles). Then Eveie made him this iphone cover which is completely adorable.

For the dessert Toby made minion cupcakes. I was inspired by these but ours were made by a child and it was really hot and they melted a bit. Still. Fun.

I don't know if you remember our Little Mermaid craft which Eveie did with my niece but at the time I told Toby not to worry about not getting to make a box as well (I only had two) because I had a cool one in mind just for him. Well, for Home on the Range I got a photo of him and put it into an Alimeda Slim Wanted Poster which I found here and he decorated the box western style. He loved it and he is trying to think up something suitably fabulous to keep in it now.

For the dinner I made a gorgeous chili with cornbread. Seriously, if you like veggie chili, this recipe is fantastic. Here it is
and here is the cornbread that we made with it.

Wow! I hope these photos reduce in size soon and crop properly.

Looks like you've had some fun shopping!
Loooove the outfits you found for the kids.
You have such a great eye for what's in, wish you lived closer to help me decorate my house.

Aww Millie, that is so nice! Wouldn't that be fun, going shopping together?! You know what would be even better, running together! I didn't go today. Tomorrow. Really! Promise!

Hi, Alysa! Your movie days are always so cool! I especially loved the croquet for Alice in Wonderland! Im glad that things are looking a little better with your hubbys job, but I am sorry to hear the one that he got initially had the funding fall through! Im keeping my fingers crossed that he will find something good (and permanent!) by the time Christmas rolls around Its hard to always keep a positive attitude when things like that happen, but it sounds like you are keeping your spirits up! Retail therapy never hurts! The outfits you got for the kids are adorable! And I am so jealous of you (and Ann) for having an above ground pool! I would never get out of it if I had one in my backyard! Im glad you guys came in from the pool and did these awesome movie nights! Your idea to have the kids sketch an invention for your Meet the Robinsons night was really cool. Eveie drew that picture of Hedwig? Wow!

Hurrah! Erin! I'm so glad you're back and that we found each other on facebook!

Hi Alysa! I'm too far behind to truly catch up but I love your movie nights, the blurry fairy wands are so cute! I want to do a Harry Potter party before our trip but haven't managed to pull it together yet. :
Sorry to see that you and hubby are in a similar situation as we are. I know we'll be fine eventually (and you will too!!) but the uncertainty is tough, at least for me. I like KNOWING, or at least having that false sense of knowing, how things will work out. I hope he finds something quickly!

Hope, you hit it right on the nose. It is the not knowing that I hate!! 107 days today if we can just hold on to it. The closer the trip gets the harder it will be on the kids if we have to cancel. I hate science. Ugh.

Happy Sunday Alysa! I have to say that I think I could do the blue fairy wands with the star shaped sugar cookie on a stick but regrettably I would likely eat all the cookies before they got to wand state!
Being married to someone who is gifted and creative like you as well as Emmy who is very artistic, I just don't think my brain functions like you guys. I may be able draw from a grid but beyond that no way! I am still in awe of your creative abilities!
Had my boys been little enough to be into Harry Potter when the books were first published in the 90's, they would have loved your recent theme.

What does Micheal do? I do love Emmy's food photography - she's got a great eye.

 

[-Hope-]

And in rereading I just realized my phone autocorrected blue fairy wands to blurry fairy wands. Good grief.

Love the latest movie nights; what a fun idea to turn a backyard BBQ into HoopDiDoo night! So clever. Equally clever to do despicable me for Father's Day.

ETA: I so hope your trip works out! I completely understand that feeling of not wanting the kids to be disappointed.

 

[Alysa]

Hi everyone! Just stopping by quickly to say
Happy Canada Day!!
The trip is 99 days out today! Too tired to update though, had a lovely weekend. I'll be back tomorrow.

 

[abbybeth]

Hope you had a lovely Canada day! and WOOOHOOO for hitting double digits!

 

[-Hope-]

Double digits!! That's so exciting.

I hope you had a good holiday.

 

[emmysmommy]

Yay!!! How exciting that you are in double digits!

So do you do anything special for Canada Day? I hope you enjoyed your day!

 

[Alysa]

Three months today! 91 days to go! I'm sorry I've been missing in action a bit, I spent the weekend working on THIS!

Only two or three more to make! Mushu for Robbie and Goofy for my dad. If Toby sticks to a clone trooper then that is a quick and easy ebay purchase but he is still waffling a bit.
My niece calls me daily to discuss the trip with me!) She and my dad are still definitely the most excited about the trip but my sister agrees with me that the Vero portion can't come soon enough.

Hope all my American friends had a wonderful Fourth of July and that all my fellow Canadians had an amazing Canada Day!!! We've got a couple of movie nights almost finished off but the only one I've got complete to show you is Brother Bear which we watched for Canada Day. Harold and I listened to the commentary by Bob and Doug (I mean Rutt and Tuke) which we've never seen before and it was hysterical. I love those guys!

For the dinner we had lake trout (I'm working on trying to eat fish again but I can't do Salmon yet) and blueberries. And for the craft, Toby did a painting of the Northern Lights. I think he did a great job. He just finished a week of astronaut training camp at the Science Centre which he loved so his favourite part of the painting was flicking in the stars with a dry brush.

For Canada Day we had a fun pool party with the kids and each of their three closest friends from school and their families. We did these cute t-shirts where I painted their hands with red fabric paint and then pressed their hands down on white t-shirts. Then I painted two bars on either side, and on the back of the shirts the kids all wrote nice messages to each other in red fabric pens. I didn't get a very good shot but here is one. I think of all of them my favourites was Robbies. It was so tiny and I wrote Baby's First Canada Day on it. So cute! Eek!