thread and glue

Pain with the thousand teeth.

Sir William Watson
1858-1935, British Poet

It has been almost one full year since Little Sister's first and hopefully last experience with stitches. If she takes after her father (which she SO does) then this will not be the last of it. His mother jokes that they had a weekly standing appointment with the local ER when he was a wee lad.

Her story starts with a cruise ship wading pool. Big Sister called out to me and I swear my head was only turned for a moment. Another mother was actually sitting in the foot deep water right next to her and didn't see it happen either. The nearest clean object was a beach towel and after applying pressure, I peeled that back to see a large gaping wound. Nope, not good at all.

taken just moments before the accident

And so we were off to the infirmary which in itself was an adventure, you see, the swimming pool is located next to the buffet and it was dinnertime. I had to excuse myself through hoards of lined up people while clutching a bleeding, screaming, squirming, soaking wet preschooler. The first staffer I approached did not speak any English but a kind bystander saw our predicament and offered assistance.

He cleared the way to the elevator and we hopped aboard only to stop at EVERY SINGLE FLOOR while dinner-goers got on and off. I apologized to anyone who may have gotten Little Sister's blood all over their fancy footwear but really, the way she was thrashing and screaming, I'm amazed she didn't completely cover everyone within a 20 foot radius.

After the second elevator stop, I elected to get off and dash the rest of way down the 14 flights of stairs. I couldn't go very fast in flip flops + struggling to hold onto a wet child so my good Samaritan ran on ahead to let the medical personnel know of our situation. I know not what he said to the staff but they were waiting with the doors wide open and a four person escort into a treatment room.



It took 30 minutes to knock her out with a sedative and she woke up screaming with the first injection of local freezing. The doc elected to suture the inner layers and glue shut the outermost layer (less scarring this way). She practically had all the glue picked off within 24 hours and we were disembarking the ship the next day. I had visions of us sitting in a Disney neighbourhood walk-in clinic for re-suturing.

As you can see, the doc did a fabulous job. Almost one year later and the scar is all but gone. The memories however have left a lasting impression. She still talks about it. I hope never to have to
do it again.

*we later deducted that she was attempting to climb UP the swimming pool slide, slipped and drug her little chin down the slide.

Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

I thought about waiting. The plan was for 50% discounted same day performance tickets. Then I shook my head and called Ticketmaster. Who wants to travel 3000+ kms and get stuck in rear balcony seats? Or worse yet, NO SEATS. Look there is my seat right there. I wanted a hanging box but they only seat two and half the fun is watching the pure joy and astonishment on my children's faces as they watch. I know that I will have orchestra-seating envy but there is no way I am forking over $$$ x 4 family members.

Not sure if I am more excited to watch the show or gawk at the art nouveau architecture.
Forward my mail, I'm moving in.
Here she is in her original 1903 glory.


Six years later the doors were closed due to the Great Depression. Reopening in 1937 as a movie theater. Over the years, the space fell into great disrepair with a leaky roof.In 1991, Disney stepped in with a 50 million dollar renovation to re‐create the original colors, fixtures, and ornamentation of the eleven‐story structure, 1,750‐seat auditorium.

One of the interior sets.
I wonder if anyone will let me wander up to check out the smaller roof-top stage?

The girls are beyond excited. Mary Poppins, the movie has been playing non-stop in our VCR for the last 48 hours. We have been watching You Tube clips of the Broadway performances.

Now I'm off to iron vector images onto t-shirts to surprise the girls with on performance night.

Cruel World

I have been diligently dieting. Working out regularly? Not so much but very very very compliant with eating healthy food in appropriate portions. So why does this machine mock me so?

"OH, that's overweight"

No shit, Wii, I think we can all see that without you telling me every single time I step aboard. My children are sticks with eyeballs and I resemble the stay-puff marshmallow man. ahhhhh. The hub can lose 6lbs just by breathing. It's taken me 3 very long tortuous weeks to achieve this. I was hoping to fit my skinny clothes by vacation time but since 50lbs is not going to magically fall off my body by spring break, I suppose I'd better step up my game. YOU HEAR THAT WII, I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU WIN

I recently cleaned out Big Sister's closet. I would have bet money that she has not grown over the winter. I would have lost that bet -big time. Everything went straight into Little Sister's closet.



I still can't believe that two little girls ages 11 and 5 can share outfits.Apart from length, these two wear the same size

The hoopla

It's been so long since I have blogged that I could hardly remember my passwords to log in. As of late, I have had nothing very exciting to share. Work is okay, home is good, kids are great.

While the rest of this province is gearing up for Vancouver 2010, our family will be escaping Olympics hoopla for this hoopla




We will spend a few days looking at all the touristy highlights and then hop aboard this
to go here

and here

and here

The girls know about our plans but we have kept this part as a complete surprise, that is IF I can contain myself. (we royals love our castles. ha)

I am excited but nervous and a little sick to my stomach. I absolutely hate spending large amounts of money and this trip is a doozy. I have to keep repeating to myself, "life experiences, life experiences." Life experiences are good.
Maybe I will get back into the swing of regular blogging. Hope all is well in your world.

Photo review for ma sista

I love Christmas but when it is over it.is.over. The tree and all the trimmings are whipped away no later than Dec 27 and I don't want to think about holiday cheer or gift wrap until next year.

I wasn't going to post any photos since I'm done with the whole season but because this is the medium I choose to keep my family updated on our lives, I suppose that a few photos won't kill me.

There were many gatherings with family for;

skating parties

Meet your newest cousin party
(he was a few days old)

Christmas dinner party

Too much sugar & drink party-

waaaaaaay too much to drink
(she takes after her father)

3/4 of the candies ended up in bellies, not on houses

(busted licking icing off the counter)

Christmas morning at our house looks a little

like this: momma breaks out the tools

(YES, I know how heavy I have gotten. Weight watchers is in my very near future)

while daddy cooks the breakfast



Our newest tradition: collecting a new Christmas story every year.
Everyone in our family had the same idea since we were given several new books

The End. Now bring on the Valentines crap

Ugly has left the building

The brown plastic/fake wooden box that houses our door chime is an ugly, ugly piece of work.

Take a closer look, it is really really hideous. As is the photo and most of my previous decor but this was taken a decade ago in the days of film with my cheapo point and shoot camera. I'd like to think that I've made major improvements with both my photography skills and interior decorating.

While she may not be very pretty to look at, she is indeed very hardworking and practical. The chime volume can be adjusted or turned off completely which comes in very handy when the hub is trying to sleep after a night shift. Or at Halloween when 10,000 ghouls come a ding donging. The kids love that the tune can be changed to match the season/occasion. They never tire of hearing the Happy Birthday song played out in chimes on their special day over and over. And over and over and over. And who wouldn't want to listen to the Beer Barrel Polka repeatedly? Ah, that answer would be: ME. My three personal favorites in random rotation are Westminster Carol, Edelweiss and the William Tell Overture, especially with the tempo cranked on high. Dadadumdadadumdadadumdumdum.

Many times I have debated replacing the large brown box with something a little smaller and vintage-looking. After searching online for replacements (very $ replacements) I decided that a little paint and distressing would be the way to go.

Crisp white paint blends all that faux wooden goodness right into that faux white beadboard. Who doesn't appreciate a good faux _____?(insert item)

Such an improvement. Looks like she could have been salvaged right out of an old hotel, say like the Palace Hotel.



The fancy label came from this very talented lady. Thanks Ms. Holden, your label creation completes my vision and makes me smile every time I walk by it.

You can view other transformations here

I can't wait for 2010

There are two things debuting in 2010 that I am most excited about. One is this

The girls and I are big Alice/Disney/Johnny fans and this just doesn't get any better. I am considering a road trip to some big city with an IMAX theater just so we can watch in amazing 3D. Wonder if I can talk the hub into flying to California for the premiere?
To see photos of some of the sets and costumes, link to a tour through Alice in Wonderland's Tea Party

The other big thing that has me peeing my pants with excitement is this

Anticipated opening spring 2010. I am not planning to be there for the opening (hate crowds) but I promised the girls that we would go sometime within the next couple of years.

it's that time of year

In this family watching Lord of the Rings is a very strange but highly anticipated Holiday tradition. The girls have literally been begging for us to sit down and view all 9, 982 hours of the extended DVD version.

This video clip of Little Sister, aged 3 makes me laugh every time I watch it. She came out of my bedroom one day with Daddy's LOTR ring using a Gollum voice. She frequently performs this little skit whenever the mood strikes her.

HO HO HO

I haven't participated in any linky parties in quite some time so I decided to share today two very quick and super easy Holiday decorations.

The large wooden letter Hs are from the dollar store, a buck each. I painted plain old white glue (thinned down with a little water) on one side, attached some red foil wrapping paper and used a rolling pin to roll out any air bubbles. When they were dry I turned them over and trimmed the edges with an exacto knife. I think they will look better with bigger Christmas balls but I am NOT braving the mall crowds. I think I will wait until after Christmas when stuff goes on sale. Whatta ya think?


This shadow box is another super easy project. Words printed out in Photoshop, though any text program would suffice. Miniature balls hot glued inside frame. Done.

Linking up to

One quick photo

I am so very behind on posting photos of the latest goings-on from the last few weeks. The Hub turned 40. FORTY. The big 4-0. O-L-D. I remember when 40 sounded positively ancient. Big Sister just had her 11th birthday which brings her that much closer to the teen years. So far it's been smooth sailing with her and I hope it continues. Little Sister celebrated her birthday a few days early so that her friends could be here. It sucks having a birthday so close to Christmas.

Alice Tea party birthday

The upcoming week is a crazy busy one with work, staff parties, extra work shifts, school concerts (on two different days), friend's birthday, Little Sister's friend's birthday and a family dinner. My head hurts just thinking about it. I haven't yet told the babysitter that she has to run the kids around to their various events. I HOPE the babysitter will run the kids around to their various events.

I'm going to make an effort to post some photos this week (for my sister's benefit) right after I finish washing all the green icing off my walls.

Ho ho ho we are Santa's elves ho ho ho

I bought this elf hat 2 years ago and so far (much to my dismay) the batteries have held out. It gets much daily use and it somewhat reminds me of the sorting hat in the Harry Potter movies.

It can get a little wild so you better hang on with both hands.

See it in action (cause I get to listen to it 50 thousand times IN A ROW)

room service

The peace, the quiet, the shopping, the learning - it's old already and I want to go home.

Don't get me wrong, I love a fancy hotel as much as one can but $12 for a bottle of water is just silly. I could order bottled house water @ $4 but geesh, who drinks house water! sarcasm
Just for reference, mixed cocktails are $9. Ah, so why would you drink twelve dollar waters?
(bottles of wine range from $60- $450).

Well, it's time to wander down to the conference center and sit on my ass for several more hours.

Sex Shopping in the city

I've hopped a plane (or two) to our capital, part work-related, part personal R &R and maybe a little Christmas shopping.

While the view from the hotel room is fantastic, the weather is not.

In case you can't tell, it's raining. Pouring actually. I'll take snow over rain any day thankyouverymuch!
My hair prefers snow over rain too. Frizz anyone?

The hotel is lovely. I'm trying to figure out how to hide one of these gorgeous chandeliers in my carry-on.

Speaking of carry-on, my aunt gave me a list of stocking stuffers to bring back for her. There is $100 worth of Rogers chocolates waiting to fly home with me. I wonder how many will actually be left at the end of the week. Mmmm good.


Tomorrow's agenda: antique row. I am so excited. Tonight it's a quiet uninterrupted soak in the tub with a good book. I miss my kids like crazy. It is a very surreal experience for life to be this quiet and this uninterrupted.

Ah a ah aha a ah aha aha ah aha a

My children wander about their daily lives singing this tune. It's very catchy and it will stick in your head.


I was a card carrying member of the school choir until age 12. Then I hit junior high and it was so not cool to be a choral/band geek. Where was Glee when I was a kid? Wouldn't it be cool to record at Abbey Road!

Reposted: not exactly the nutcracker ballet

Already I am feeling the pressure that this time of the year brings. In the period between November and January each and every member of this household has a birthday as well as a couple of friends, my father, my BIL, my niece and a cousin, not to mention the Hub's sister, nephew and best friend. That's a lot of celebrating. Then Christmas is upon us and there are work related gatherings, parties with friends and of course family holiday dinners. The shopping is overwhelming and socializing is not high on my list of favorite things.

This year I have decided to keep the stress to a minimum. I am shopping early. I will be declining invitations. My children are not participating in any sports until the spring.

I am a little sad that we won't be watching the girls perform in recitals this year. So I am reposting Little Sister's performance from Dec 2008 complete with newly uploaded video.

-------------------------------------------------
Little Sister performed in her first recital.
She was beyond excited until ...

we arrived at the studio. She refused to warm up with all the other girls. She wanted nothing to do with posing for photos on the floor. I really thought she would be that one little girl who stands in the middle of the group and does nothing -just stands there.
But she rocked that Suzy Snowflake dance. She is the youngest/smallest in her group therefore she was the first one out. She did every single move (about three beats ahead of the music and everyone else in the group). She owned that choreography. I am trying to post the video but am having serious problems trying to get my computer to recognize my video recorder.

Her first ever dance rose

apparently it didn't smell very good

Now in her video debut: Little Sister dressed in pink, age three
(somehow blogger cut off the first part). Her curtsy at the end totally cracks me up.

Weekend Warriors

Every so often I let the hub talk me into venturing forth unto the great wild wilderness. I may balk and complain but secretly I enjoy the great wild wilderness. Please please don't let that get back to him or I will be booked on his next grand hiking adventure. I may like the outdoors but I don't want to sleep in the outdoors. His idea of fun = climbing up the side of a mountain, sleeping on the cold hard ground and eating leaves. My idea of fun = waiting for him at the spa.

I've been feeling a little restless, being all cooped up inside lately so I agreed to an easy afternoon stroll through the forest. It's a mere 12 mile round trip hike to the falls. It starts off nice and easy, following the creek; a very pleasant way to spend time with one's family.
I seriously had to run to keep up with Little Sister who has done this trail many times before. She was NOT impressed that I couldn't keep up.


After a series of straight uphill switchbacks and a precarious jaunt across a rocky ledge with CLIFFS on either side, I was ready for a pit stop and some oxygen.

switchbacks

straight upwards

narrow trail on rocky cliff

pit stop (the first of many)

Then she was off and running ... again. So unlike Big Sister, who at this age insisted on being carried. Ever tried packing a kid up Diamond Head? All 9,999 stairs!

This is her "I AM THE LEADER and YOU HAD BETTER STAY BEHIND ME" face. No worries Baby Girl, I AM behind you and I have no energy to pass you!

The view from the top was beautiful.

Then we happened upon a fabulous tree sturdy bridge over the creek.


We head down to take a closer look.Who wouldn't want to walk over that? (if you guess Big Sister then you would be right)
Really, can you blame her? It is a little daunting.
She was all smiles until I dared her to walk all the way across.

She may have inherited my fear of heights but this girl cannot turn down a dare.
To prove that it was completely safe, I went first which probably was a pretty bad idea considering, oh, I AM TERRIFIED OF HEIGHTS. And yes, the lingering VERTIGO, the kind where I can't even bend down to tie up my own shoes without falling over. Not such a brilliant idea but since I was packing about a grands worth of camera gear, there was NO WAY I was falling.
She cried half way over and froze. I was able to talk her through it. She was extremely proud of herself. She even stayed out half way while I climbed back up the bank to take photographic proof of her bravery.

The hub was in his element; giving us the Latin names for all the vegetation and helpful tips if you ever find yourself stranded in the wilderness.
This green stuff is called Old Man's beard (Latin name, antiquus farticus) and it is particularly useful as fire starter. It is also an apt description for the hub, he JUST TURNED FORTY!


As much as I trust the Hub's survival skills, it was quickly turning to dusk and I had no intentions to sleep there so it was time to turn back.


Little Sister may have big time evened the fitness playing field for me on the way back. I was packing my own extra body weight and the Hub was packing her.
Side note: the old dude can't wait for it to snow so that we can trudge this trail together, through 6 feet of newly fallen powder on snowshoes. Oooooooh goodie, I can't wait either!

Children of the Corn

We headed out to a local farm to pick out our pumpkins. Yes, leaving it a little late this year. Usually by this time, the hub has all the pumpkins carved and the fireworks purchased (just itching to light them off).


I wanted to get a nice family photo but my family was having none of it. I snapped a few of the girls though, ones to include in our Christmas card. I will post those sometime this week after I choose a few favorites.






Little Sister is EXACTLY like her father in that she hates shopping, no matter what it is for. It took her exactly 0.3 seconds to pick out her pumpkin and then she was off to play on the equipment outside. I didn't even have time to snap more than one photo of her pumpkin quest.


Big Sister was a lot more accommodating and let me take LOTS of photos.






Who knew that spending a lovely fall afternoon with one's family on what should be an enjoyable outing would involve so such drama and so many tears. Yes, tears. By the end of the hour both girls had cried several times and daddy's nerves were frazzled and momma may have been shouting. Big Sister seems to have entered the hormone zone and she was a little bundle of bad attitude and sass.

Nice attitude, I'm surprised she's not giving me the finger

Little Sister was crying because she wanted to sit with Daddy but couldn't climb up. Then she was crying because she was sitting with Daddy and she wanted to get down.



I haven't seen the movie since I was a teenager but it made a lasting impression -large corn fields freak me out just a little bit. Enlarge the photo and tell me those creepy stalks aren't hiding horrific creepy children with pitchforks and "he who walks behind the rows"

and is it just me, or does Big Sister's smile look a little demonic? Thanks Stephen King, you really know how to scare a girl.
PS. we were the only people at this farm, out in the middle of nowhere. After we paid for our pumpkins the cashier disappeared and we were all alone. Very very alone with all that corn.

Beadboard Wallpaper

My favorite place in the whole house is the little alcove just outside my bedroom door. I have debated moving out the desk and bringing in bookshelves and a comfy reading chair but in the end, I love my rolltop too much.

I wanted to make this space stand out from the rest of the tan walls and my heart was set on beadboard paneling. Priced at $40/sheet x 3 this was more than I wanted to spend, not to mention would require more effort than this one woman show was willing to put forth.

Then I happened upon a blog post about beadboard wallpaper. Yup, paper. I was sold on the $25/roll price tag and ease of installation. Oh, did I say ease? Ya, not so much. For two solid days I wrestled with those NOT prepasted panels from an English company only to walk into WMart and discover they sold this product PREPASTED. It was cheaper and of course no shipping wait.

I am not sure how this stuff will hold up to busy family life as it seems a bit fragile/easily scratched & dented but oh my, how it looks like real paneling. It however, feels a bit like styrofoam.


I tried my hardest to install crown molding, following these super simple instructions. It just wasn't happening so super dad to the rescue.



Why oh why does crown make me so happy? Incredibly stupid happy!

There was half a roll of the paper left over so I plastered it onto the breakfast bar.

Finishes it nicely. And now I am wandering all over the house, beadboard paper in hand trying to decide where to install it next. I am leaning towards the laundry room ceiling. A cottage ceiling would make my heart sing.
To see what other bloggers have done with this product, link to the BB wallpaper party at

Heirloom Party

My small builder's boring house is not one conducive to displaying vignettes of fabulous antiques. I wish I had the room. I wish that I had the antiques.

Years ago my mother bought an old broken down roll top desk from a family friend who estimated that it was about 100 years old. It sat decaying in her garage until I spotted it and gave it my best efforts at restoration. This was my first attempt at any type of furniture refinishing but I figured that I could not do any harm since it was in such rough shape. Too bad I didn't think to take any before photos.


It sits in an alcove leading to the master bedroom. It is my favorite place to sit and talk on the phone, browse magazines and drink tea.




I wish I knew it's history -who sat here before me, handwriting letters and filing correspondence. I wonder if it was used in an office or a private residence.
The teacup is one of a set belonging to my great grandmother (who was born in 1899). My grandfather and I had many tea parties using these cups. Sometimes my girls and I do the same.

I haven't finished staining the rolltop. It's been on my to-do list for the last 12 years. It's highly unlikely to get finished anytime this decade.


The chair was one that sat in my grandparent's kitchen for my entire childhood. It too needed a little TLC. Stained to match the desk color. Both my children learned to walk by pushing this chair around the house. Big Sister used to get it wedged behind the bathroom door and would get so mad. As a toddler, Little Sister used to stand on it to
reach the phone,dialing people at random




Last year my SIL gifted my youngest daughter with her 35+ year old Disneyland charm bracelet. It is in immaculate condition, even the charms have retained their painted accents.


Little Sister loves to wear it, though I safety pin it to her shirt sleeve for safekeeping.

I am participating in Emmacallsmemama heirloom party. Click to see other heirloom posts.

whatever

My 4 year old came home from kindergarten with some new skillz. Only 6 hours into her official school education and already she "knows some sign language."

what

ever

major

loser

Nice huh? Good to see that my tax dollars are paying for such a fantastic education. Guess that's what happens when you let babies on the playground with know-it-all 12 year olds. I guess it could be worse, she could be flipping the bird. Maybe that will be tomorrow's lesson.

And just for the record, Big Sister wants everyone to know that "loser" also indicates the health check symbol. Thank you nutritional education class. Mighty hard working tax dollars, indeed!