It is finally spring here in Nova Scotia!!!



It has been a long time coming but finally spring has arrived. The grass is green, the leaves are coming out and the tulips and daffodils are in bloom. I just love this time of year. After what feels like a year of winter, it starts to warm up and the landscape begins to be painted with colour. It starts with a few dots here and there, some green sprouts of grass and patches of blue sky. Then splashes of colour, green grass all over, crocus and daffodils line homes and the smell of fresh cut grass fills the air. Finally, the masterpiece is done! There are Tulips of all colours, the trees are full of lovely green leaves, the sky is full of radiant blue and bright sunshine! The kids are all out playing in the fresh air, riding bikes, swinging on swings and sliding on slides! I enjoy summer, no more winter jackets and snowsuits but the next breath taking masterpiece here is fall. I just love the amazing brilliant colours that are painted in fall. I thank God for his amazing artistry. Here are a few pictures of spring from my home. They were taken a week ago and so much more has come out or bloomed since then, lovely.

Laura at http://www.orgjunkie.com/ is having a basket carnival! Reading Laura's blog really inspired me to get organized and I think her love of baskets is contagious! I just started reading her blog a few weeks ago and have since made a few trips to the Buck or Two to stock up on baskets. I am still just beginning on my quest to get my home organized but here are a few pictures of what I have done so far. It isn't much but we all have to start somewhere, right?

This is my soon to be scrapbooking center. I have a shelf that I am waiting for Jim to put up for the blue baskets to go on. There is a five drawer shelf beside the table to organize too. I am shopping around for different ideas to organize all the supplies (which are currently hiding under the table).


My boys were making fun of me for putting everything in baskets and then when I had them clean the basement I found they had "borrowed" a few of my baskets for their blocks. Can't make fun of me now!


Baskets are great for remotes and these game controllers! Now I don't have controller chords hanging down in front of the vcr.


I just love this I got from the dollar store. I keep it under the kitchen sink and is great for doing a quick clean up, like when unexpected company is coming. I keep paper towels and dish cloths in it so I can just grab it and go.


I wish I had some before pics, this was a complete mess before I organized it. I love how easy it is to see what I need.


This drawer was truly a junk drawer! It was full TO THE TOP with junk, it took awhile to sort through but I am so glad I did. Now when we need something small like a pen or battery, we don't have to sift though a drawer full of junk to find it!The kids are getting better at putting the pens and pencils back there too.


So there it is. It is a start and it feels good to see some progress. There is so much more to do but I am getting lots of good ideas from The Organizing Junkie and other organized moms! There's my contribution to the basket carnival, let the festivities begin!

Well, Menu planning last week was a success so here I go again:

Monday - Chicken, stewed potatoes, steamed asparagus

Tuesday - Veggie Shrimp Stirfry (not a big hit with the kids, all those veggies!)

Wednesday - Slow Cooker Bean Casserole, Biscuits and salad

Thursday - Lemon Dill Fish casserole (My own invention, I'll explain below)

Friday - Cheesy Italian Bake

Saturday - Hashbrowns, Turkey Bacon and eggs (Sometimes we just love breakfast for supper!)

Sunday - Sundays are very full for us, we usually eat a late lunch out after church and don't eat much for supper, maybe a snack on our way out to do the children's evening program)

Okay, now for the Lemon Dill Fish Casserole (for lack of a better name!). I just take a few filets of Haddock (or whatever fish you like) and fry it with some olive oil until it is all in flakes. Then I add Lemon Butter Dill sauce (a bottle I found in the grocery store, really yummy) and whatever veggies I choose. I boil some egg noodles (you can use rice or any pasta, my boys like the egg noodles best) and add to the fish mixture. Sounds strange but it is quite good and the sauce has so much flavour, they like to add Parmesan cheese to it too. I like to make strange things sometimes and this one turned out to be a keeper.

No More Baby!!


Today I dropped my youngest Joseph off at school for his first day of school, well orientation. He gets to meet his teacher and see what school will be like. He was so excited. He had his shoes, jacket and backpack all on and waited at the door for half an hour! When I dropped him off, I noticed he is pretty much the smallest in his class and he looked so little, like I was dropping off a toddler. He was a bit shy but seemed happy to be there and had no problem with me leaving so that was good. There was a little girl there who was crying very hard, clinging on to her big sister, who dropped her off. My heart went out to her, I remember what that was like. I went to 5 different schools in kindergarten and I was painfully shy. I remember all too well how that felt! Luckily, Joseph didn't cry or I might have too! Here are a few pics of Joseph, now big school boy:

Looking forward to Summer Beach days!!


Hello Everyone!

Finally the sun is out today. We have had so much rain! It is only expected to be out for today but I'll take it when I can. The meal planning is going very well. I have tried it in some form or another before, thinking of some meals so I knew what to grocery shop for. But I never had a definite plan before and it is going over well. No more worrying about what is for supper when I'm at work! (not much I can do from there!). Spring is slowly popping up here, small flowers and buds on the trees that look like they could open soon. Tomorrow is Joseph's big day. He is so excited to go to school for orientation. He will be in french immersion and has already learned a lot from Andrew who is just about finished his first year in French immersion. I always get just a little nervous, will he cry after I am gone? My kids are good that way and pretty independant but you never know. Andrew admitted to me that on his first day of school, he cried just a little bit. He tried to hide it but the teacher noticed and cheered him up. Now he loves school and hates to miss a day. I hope that Joseph developes the same love of learning. Nathanael is a whole different story. He has always disliked school and it is hard to get him to do his homework. It isn't that he isn't smart, he really is. He taught himself to read long before he started school. He struggles some with math but when I sit down with him, I quickly find out he mostly knows what he is doing. He just doesn't want to do it. I don't really know what to do to help him with his attitude about school. I worry that although he is very smart, that he will do poorly because of lack of interest. He had a different start to school too. He started Primary here (or kindergarten) just before he turned 6. Now in BC he would have been starting grade one but the age cutoff dates were different then. We moved to BC from NS two months into Primary and they put him into grade one. That was fine but his attitude changed then. I think he missed that first year of adjustment, making friends and having fun before the harder work, tests and homework started. Anybody have any suggestions? He does well enough but I know he isn't putting in his best effort, just what he needs to do to get by. Okay, now I'm rambling on! Hope you are all getting some sunshine today! Summer is just around the corner, yay!!

Okay, Here goes, my first crack at Menu Planning Monday!

Monday - Whole wheat macaroni and tuna casserole, homemade bread

Tuesday - Marinated pork steaks, stewed potatoes and veggies

Wednesday - Whole wheat spaghetti and salad

Thursday - Baked garlic and herb salmon, rice, veggies

Friday - Homemade Pizza

There it is. Nothing too fancy but should help me be more organized and prevent those "I don't know what to eat, lets eat out" evenings! Hopefully I'll stick with this and it will help in saving time and money. We had a very nice weekend with our dear friends visiting us on holiday monday. I always find it hard to go back to work after a long weekend, I enjoy being home with the boys so much, but at least this will be a shorter working week! Hope you all had a nice weekend too!

I thought this picture was too cute not to share!! Joseph was trying to give Sammy a kiss, Sammy looks ready!

Hey Look at me!

I'm figuring this blog thing out. See all my nice new things on the right hand side? Blog world is so much fun, I'm glad I discovered it. There are so many kind of blogs out there. I love it because you get to know some of your long distance friends and family better and you get to make new ones! I also love connecting with other moms. I find it reassuring to see that others have the same struggles as I do. We can share the struggles and the blessings! There are a few that give me so many great ideas, like the organizing blogs, food planning and my newest interest, making my home a sanctuary. I have become a company girl! I love the idea of doing the little things that I can to make our home a sanctuary and welcoming! I am so busy with my husband's church, fulltime work and the three boys that this is something I hadn't thought about, and I love that Rachel at Home Sanctuary(http://homesanctuary.typepad.com/rachelanne/) has some great ideas that I can impliment along with the rest of the group. I love that those with ideas are willing to share for those of us that don't!

I was snuggling with my 6 year old yesterday before he went to school, he kissed my cheek and nestled his face into my neck and said "this is where the word kiss comes from" I chuckled and told him he was right, that was where the word kiss comes from. Kids say the sweetest things!

Not off to a good start!!

Okay, I am sorry to admit that I didn't get the pictures I promised to. I will work on it! They will be posted on the weekend at the latest, I hope! I've been enjoying reading blogs lately on organization. Anyone who knows me is probably laughing pretty hard right now! I am the most unorganized person you could know, but I want to change that. Correction, I need to change that! As the three boys get older, things get more chaotic and I can't find what I really need, when I really need it! I am inspired by reading blogs by other moms on the topic. I really like "I'm an Organizing Junkie" at http://www.orgjunkie.com/ Lots of great ideas for any budget, as well as tons of ideas for meal planning, yet another place I am lacking! I went to the dollar store and bought a bunch of baskets and am working on getting my linen/bathroom items closet organized. Next is the kitchen, it really needs it. We are trying to think of ways to convert a large open shelving unit into a pantry unit. It should be a fun project and really help to organize the kitchen as we have very limited cupboard space, and much cheaper than buying one. I looked at buying a pantry and they are over a hundred dollars and they are so small, only 24" wide. Today Joseph had his check up and immunization with the health nurse. He did well, she said he is very ready for school and he didn't cry or even flinch when he got his shots, just said "ow". He is growing so fast! I just realized I forgot to take something for supper out of the freezer and we have Bible study tonight, should be interesting, trying to come up with a meal on short notice and no time to do it! See what I mean about meal planning?

Well, again I have been pretty slack in posting! I've actually been pretty caught up in reading other peoples blogs and it has inspired me to start posting again. Hopefully I'll keep it up and do it more regularly but no promises! I will have to bring some pictures tomorrow to post, like ones from Jim's ordination. Jim got ordained on April 22/08. It was quite an adventure, not in a good way! Just as we arrived in Saint John, NB, Joseph started throwing up (and didn't stop for two weeks) and not long after Andrew started. I spent the whole trip in the Hotel cleaning up after them. I have to thank Julia, she stayed in the Hotel with Joseph so I could attend Jim's ordination, so thanks!! It was a nice service and I am so proud of Jim for sticking it out through all the hard times he has had and he is now a Reverend. Joseph is preparing for his full day of school on May 23/08. It is an orientation day and he'll meet his teacher and see what it is like to be gone all day. Here in Nova Scotia, they start full time in Kindergarten, or Primary as it is called here. He is pretty excited but it is strange for me. He is my baby and I can't believe he is going to school full time in September, and there is no baby behind him. There is always another baby but not now, very strange. I guess at some point you have to move on to the next stage of life but I'm not sure I'm ready! Spring is finally here and I have flowers popping up all over the place. I'll take some pics tonight and post them tomorrow (you know, when I'm supposed to be working!) not much yet but nice to see signs of warmer weather. Today is cool but a beautiful sunny day (after a few days of very heavy rain). I got a Chimnea for mother's day (outdoor fireplace thingy) and we tried to light it last night but the weather isn't nice enough yet. It is much to windy here! We'll try again when the weather is nicer and the wind has calmed some. Nathanael is considering going to kids camp this summer, he'll have fun there. Andrew and Joseph have both registered for soccer and Nathanael will sign up for baseball again. It will be busy but they love it and it keeps them active. At least Andrew and Joseph will play at the same time on the same team. We are planning a big trip to New York this August. We are taking the boys to a Wiggles concert on Long Island and then we'll do some sight seeing (not sure if we'll have the courage to venture into New York City) and then maybe go up to PEI. We have our Wiggles tickets and the boys are so excited! I am looking forward to the fall too as Jim's parents are coming to visit! Fran has been here once before when Jojo was born but His dad hasn't so Jim is pretty happy that he is coming too! I hope they get to stay for a nice long visit! We don't get to see family enough and a week just isn't long enough!! We are so excited too that Jim's brother is expecting a little boy in a few weeks! Yes, another boy. Between Jim and his brother there will now be 5 boys and no girls! Good thing we love our boys! Anyway, I suppose it is time to get some work done, since I'm being paid and all. I don't even know if anyone reads this but if so, remind me to post once and awhile! Miss you all!