I'm trying to get better at blogging. I know you love me and understand that I am a busy bee! I know there are lots of bloggin' Mama's that work full time so I don't really have an excuse but I *AM* trying to get better! Soooo we are all happy, healthy and happening! The girls are just finishing up their first swimming lessons. We get the report card on Friday and I hope to hell they passed because I snuck thru the system and enrolled them in a class before I'm allowed and before we know if they passed or not! Oops.. this is just another reason why I shouldn't be a stage Mama!

Here are some recent snaps:



Miss Madigan in action


Miss Maeve-y-dera sharing her special treat with her sister. This child of mine is amazing!



When we go camping its nothing but mannies, pedies and looking good!

We had a GREAT weekend! Saturday we went to the Mt Pleasant family party. It was really fun. They had a HUGE bouncy castle and a small one. Michael and the girls LOVED it! I didn't think Madigan was big enough to get in it but she did! They had a couple of teens minding the bouncy castle. Maeve and Madigan befriended the teens and got them to help climb all the way to the top and race down the big slides! We had a fantastic bbq dinner and had a really good time!




As you might recognize, we took Uncle Kenny's advice and hit the beach at Whiterock. A little windy but overall fanfrigging tastic! We were only there for a little bit but had some great fish'n'chips and some rocky road ice cream! I told Maeve she could only get whichever ice cream she could read! So rocky road it was!!!



This weekend we put some time in with our friend Carter Duncan. He just gets cuter every day! He is so sweet and kind and easy going! I can't believe he is already almost 2! Carter fell in love with our dolls so we sent one home with him for a visit!





I loves this picture! Look how tall and graceful Maeve is! She is growing up so fast I can't believe it! Madigan too is getting tall and as usual cheeky as ever! Carter seems to enjoy the girls as much as they enjoy him. We know what we are going to get him for his 2nd birthday!

Here are some snaps of us! Hope you enjoy!




Our beautiful little sink nymph!



Pirate eye McGoober and her sister Princess Periwinkle



Sea Turtles Swimming Lesson at Kilarney Pool



Sports day at school with Ms.Is.Broadrick

Happy Mother's Day!

Oh tilt your head you big baby!




Since this is just one of the many traits I've inherited from you, I know you wont be angry with me! Or, if you are I know you'll get over it!

My Mama

You have been my Mom my whole life. Everything I have, I have because of you. Because of you, I am who I am today and I like who I am! There have been times where I haven't liked you, but I always love you! I hope my girls grow to love me, need me and enjoy my company as I do yours! Being a Mother is the hardest job I've ever had. The reward tho, is infinite!

So my Mama, I thank you for raising me to be able to enjoy the job you loved me enough to do!

Soooo its been ages since I've blogged. Sorry about that! I think my mental faculties are in fact, lacking!

So, here is a whole shwack of what we have been up to around here. My family is so frigging gorgeous and I love them. I love love love them. Even after a day like yesterday when I literally had a thundercloud over my head. Michael, Maeve & Madigan I love you even when I'm cranky and miserable. Sorry I have days like yesterday! So in no particular order, I present to you my gorgie fambily!

Thursday

Howdy folks.. sorry no pic for Earth day Art.  I didn't manage to grab a snap of it.  Here is our very own Maeve-y lady for crazy hat day at school!

Our Miss Maeve-y M finished her gymnastics class last week too.  

Hidey Ho friends and fam!  Been a while since I've blogged.  Telling you how busy I am is getting old.  Trust me, I am!  

So this weekend past we celebrated Great Granny Gracie's 90th birthday in Powell River.  We also celebrated Easter weekend with Cousin Jakers!  I'd love to share with you some photos of this event but we uploaded them to Papa George's computer and he erased them from our card.  He has the pics, we just have to walk him through burning them and sending them to us!  So, as a reward here is the lone pic of our weekend.  I call it, "Uncle Gary in profile"

We made it back from PR safe and sound, we may have had to wait a ferry or two (totalling 4 hours of missed ferries) but we had a great time!  We had some great dinners and some even greater breakfasts!  The Easterbunny came and dropped little eggies all over Papa's place.  The kids seemed to have fun decorating and finding them.  Despite the GIANT 1lb Bunny given to them, the sugar/chocolate eating was kept to a minimum!  

So today I'd like to focus on our little Ms Madigan.  Our sweet little Ms finished up her Jump Gymnastics class.  She has been taking it for 13 weeks and is a GREAT listener?  I used a question mark because she doesn't always listen to me!  Madigan seems to LOVE her gymnastic teacher and just loves gymnastics itsself.  Madigan has alot of self confidence and she is able to do absolutely anything!  She tries everything and if she doesn't get it right away, she tries and tries again!  She is such a wonderful little person and at Happy Hands she is doing such a great job!  She is growing so fast and she is so able to do whatever it is she wants!  I am so proud of my Maddie Bea!  Madigan's favourite thing about gymnastics is, "starjumps on the trampoline".

  

Holy no posting batman!   I have been so neglectful to you all, my faithful readers.  I apologize!  I have a been a busy little bee!  Work has been busy.  The kids have been busy!  Seems like I hardly have time to myself!  Well, honestly I have a new man in my life.  Well,  a couple really.  He is called "Dog" and I love his show.  I am also a fan of at least one of his sons!!!  Dog has really been eating up my free time these days!

Here is Ms Maeve Adera cranking out one of her pieces of art.  She loves drawing and I love watching her pictures evolve.  She is trying new things and mixing new elements into her art.  She is simply amazing.  

Here is her finished work.  The xxxx's at the bottom are "sparkles" and they help the bubbles float up into the sky!.

She is working on labeling her art work.  On the first line she wrote, "A Big" but she put the g 'tail' on the wrong side so she started again.  The next line reads, "A big B u" then she started again because her "u" didn't work out so she started again with "A Bubbl".  So, the title of this piece is "A BuBBL"  she did it all herself, sounded out all the letters in bubble.  I'm not going to tell her she missed the "e"  I'll let the rest of my spelling nazi family do that!

Monday Monday... duh nuh, nah nah nah.....

Not much going on around here these days.  We are all well, as well as people who work and go to school in petri dishes may be that is!  Coughs, colds snotty noses are pretty par for the course around here.  

I'm busy cursing daylight savings time because the girls do NOT want to go to sleep when it is still light out.  I am patting myself on the back again for the blackout curtains I got for 50% off when Linens'n'things went belly up!  Ahh glorious darkness!  

Today we woke up to snow.. boo.. I knew it was coming though.  Had a hot tip from some islanders warning me of the coming white stuff!

Here is Little Ms Madigan Bea doing a significant dismount on the balance beam.  This kid is amazing with balance!  She seems to LOVE her class and I'm pretty sure her teacher is pretty in love with our Goober!

She is such a silly little monkey and I adore her, well more when she isn't driving me crazy with the constant whining and crying!

Tonight the girls are sound asleep.  This girls love each other (when they aren't fighting/screaming at each other) even in their sleep!  I am the luckiest Mother ever!  

Maeve and Madigan, je t'aime!

Read my shirt......



And we love her!






Happy Birthday Auntie CaCa! Hope you have a great day today!


xo

Hiya

Hiya

Some snaps from the last little while...


Valentines Day




Smart Librarian Maeve



Smart Librarian Maeve with a wicked bad reaction to her stupid vaccinations. My poor sweet honey. Doesn't seem to bother her, I called the Nurses hotline and sexy nurse Alex (male) said to ice it, give her some ibuprofen. It doesn't seem to be bothering her but it is killing me that I was forced my the school nurse nazi to vaccinate her. Boo




Playdate with Master LeeHam. Table for two of course!


Now we are off to the bank, then to gymnastics from there we will hit science world and then home so I can make dinner.. whoopee! What a day!

Well kids this is one helluva round.

Mommies little Angels were involved in a Battle Royale. Michael calls this shot, "Uppercut vs Haymakers"



Unfortunately both girls win a TKO


My girls are so beautiful and talented! Tonight we watched Disney's "The Fox and the Hound". Why do I remember these movies as being fun to watch every sunday night growing up? They are almost all horrible murder filled, terrorizing, nightmare makers. Fortunately my good friend Lisa reminded me that perhaps the Fox/Hound was a movie we should watch with the remote at the ready! We did a fair bit of skipping and as far as the girls know it was a beautiful movie. The plot line suffered a few holes tho! What is up with that Disney guy... seriously what did he have against Mothers? Anyhoo, I am going to go watch Rock n Rolla by myself. Boo erns.. boo erns

Here are some snaps from a few weeks ago. We tried to get a pic of the girls on the ice right beside the sign that says, "please stay off the ice." We are clever like that! For all you worry warts, had the ice broken it was ankle deep there and we were a few short feet from a nice warm car! This was taken at Deer Lake Park. We were not the only idiots out on the ice. There were many more idiots that were alot more idiotic? Some dood was out super far on the lake, had cut a sweet hole for some ice fishin'. He was escorted off the ice. Luckily he didn't crash

 through and freeze/drown!

The girls shore do make skating look fun:

Not to mention stylish and beautiful!

Gymtastic

Hidey Ho faithful fans!  I'm so late to blog these days.  We are busy busy as usual.  To recap, last week there was some gaming industry lay offs.  Thankfully we were spared this round.  Michael's work, Action Pants Inc.  had a big meeting.  The big meeting was about Ubisoft and how Actions Pants is no more.  Now good ole AP is Ubisoft Vancouver.  The news sounds great.  Michael is happy about it and thats all I need!

In other news, Maeve and Madigan joined gymnastics!  They are both card carrying members of Jump!  Madigan's first class:

Maeve's first class:

They both did brilliantly and seem to like it so far.  They have really good adult:child ratios!  Maeve's whole class  was super flushed and had lots of big smiles so they must have had fun!  Madigan's class.. well.. believe it or not Madigan was the one who was listening to the teacher! Go figure, she doesn't listen to me!

Monday again!

I am such a sporadic blogger these days.  Life here is as usual, fast forward!  Last week I was down and out with this cold.  I got my ass handed to me on a platter.  Thank goodness Michael's milestone was done at noon on friday.  We picked him up at 3:30 and I just barely made it!  

Life has been pretty scary around here.  There have been lots and lots of layoffs in the games industry.  We've had it happen before unfortunately but if it happened now we would be screwed.  And not just a little bit screwed.. alot screwed!  Ahh being a homeowner sure has perks!  Boo!  Whenever we've been laid off before, we have been renting.  Cutting short your lease by a month isn't too much of a big deal.  Now reality sets in!  I don't want to have to move abroad where most of the work is.  I love my life.  I love my work.  I love my community.  I love my life!  If we had to, we would. I would just be disgruntled about it!

Maeve is doing really well in school.  She LOVES her teacher.  Her teacher is very fashionable and almost always teaches in heels.  Maeve seems to think I should wear them too.  Too bad my fred flinstoned fallen arched hobbitt feet don't do high heels!  Maeve decided I should wear boots to work and then slip on some lovely heels to teach!  My god what are we to do when she finds out she can buy her own footwear!! Yikes!

Madigan is still Mommy's little girl.  I've noted before taking her to work with me is a total challenge.  I have to balance and juggle alot to succeed with her at preschool.  Next year I will be putting her in the 4 year old class in the downstairs preschool.  I know she'll do great without me to whine on.. er.. i mean lean on!

editor's note * yes they do wear pants, just not inside our home!  Viva Donald Duck!

**Thanks Mel and Carter for the gifts!  

Monday Monday...

Hiya frizends and fizamily !  Today was ANOTHER Monday... wtf.. where are these Mondays coming from anywayz?  The weekends go by too quickly!   

This Monday Michael stayed home in the am because there was a pro d day.  No school for Maeve and a forced no school for Madigan because there is no way I'll take her to work if I can avoid it!  That sounds mean but really.. having your child(ren) at work with you is HARD!  So, if Michael and Maeve are at home then so is Madigan!

After work we dropped Daddy off at his work and we hit the seawall.  Maeve was given a super awesome old skool big girl trike and we got kitted out for it this weekend.  Both girls now have helmets and lilypads..  Lilypads are kneepads for all of you not Madigans out there!  The girls drove all the way from pacific to Cambie and back.  They were amazing.  Madigan was more than a little pooped but we survived the experience!  We met up with our very favorite little man.. Carter!  Mel snapped this pic of them all!

Now we are at home and I'm trying to come up with dinner plans.  Michael is on deadline at work so we are Daddy less in the evenings.  Boo... and even more boo because he was late going in he'll be even later coming home.. bah hum boo!

**recent edit**

The time is 7:49 pm and look what the girls are doing!  I tired them OUT today!  Happy snoozing little princesses!  

ps they love each other so much they hold hands in their sleep!

Wednesday

Hidey ho friends and fam!  

I just wanted to let you know that I am an Auntie to the cutest baby on the planet.  Behold. the cutest little baby girl!

srsly.. isn't she the cutest?  I love her so much and since her Mother isn't blogging pictures of her I will.  I totally.. TOTALLY ripped this pic off Dinks' facebook and let that be lesson to us all to watermark our photos!  

This has been a GREAT week for me so far!  I now have 13 children enrolled in my class with 2 more expected next week and 1 more expected in Feb.  The children are all so great!  Definitely unique personalities and different developmental levels but great great and so much fun!  I love my class!!!  

Another reason my week has been great was Sara and Jakers popped over for a visit!  They are both doing well.  Jakers is just the sweetest boy alive!  I say, "Oh Jakers I sure love you."  He replies, "I love you too Auntie"!  He loves me.. he reaaaaally loves me!!!!  Sara came to our weekly yogaflex class.  It was nice to see that even a super toight fit girl like Sara was red faced and sweating like I was!  Tough tough class last night.. so, obviously to stretch out the kinks we went up to our local for a pint of strongbow!!! hahahah  Crazy night.. silly foolish drunk dood tries to hit on an entire table of married women, fresh from a very challenging yoga class!  You know he was drunk when!  Oh well, he really liked Sara and all the girls looked hot so, I guess who could blame him!!  He very kindly bought us all a shot and I wobbled my old ass home!  Luckily I bounced out of bed with NO hangover and NO crippling muscle spasms!  Woot me!!

Today Sara, Jakers and Clan Mussellams met Great Gramma Mimi for lunch.  She just loves her Great Grandchildren!  Everyone was really well behaved at lunch but it was a short sweet visit.  GG Mimi had to hit the Community Center and Sara and Jakers had to get their gear rounded up to head home.  Since Maeve was up at 5:30am and Madigan was up at 6:30 am I made the executive decision that naps were in order!  So I drove to Mr Hortons, got myself a coffee and forced the children into a nap.. well.. Madigan, not Maeve.  Maeve rested with her eyes closed and did NOT sleep!  Since we were in Richmond we decided to go visit my favorite crazy Mussellam.. Great Granny Gracie!  We had a lovely visit.  She is one hell of a lady!  I admire her, she is a troublemaker tho.. real pot stirrer like her sons and grandsons!  The girls and I made it home around 6pm had a quick dinner and then bedtime!  

Holy Tamole!

Helloo up there!!

Spidey Maeve towering over her Mama!

What we did this weekend

DSCF6393
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam

Saturday we went skating. Sunday we met up with Mr Carter! We also met up with Mel, his Mommy! We played at Dorothy Lam park and it was cccccccccold! To say I wasn't dressed warm enough was an understatement! Yes yes , I know a smarter person would have moved around to generate heat. I guess I could have done that!

Carter is just the cutest little guy. He is full of smiles thats for sure. Well, until I accidentally poked him on the freezing cold hand with my fingernail. Nice move Vashti.. make the baby cry.. nice!

Maeve was very good at taking care of Carter and making sure he was safe. Madigan was peeling rubber driving her trike around the playground. After much playing we grabbed a hot drink to warm up. We sure do love Monkey Duncan's fambily

DSCF6388

DSCF6388
Originally uploaded by Clan Mussellam

Hidey ho friends.

thought I would blog about our exciting adventure. Michael took a, yes a singular, picture of the event. We went to Kits rink and took the girls "skating". I haven't worn skates since I was 4 months pregnant with Maeve. Turns out the joys of pregnancy don't end with hemorrhoids, fat asses/guts and saggy boobs. The joy continues and expands (literally) to our feet! My feet have gained an entire size lengthwise and are even more Barney Rubble-ish than before. It sure is fair being of the fairer sex! So here is my fat ass, fat gut, toight rack (post op) and a portion of my gigantic barney rubbles squeezed into my old hockey skates! Ahhh Michael must just LOVE the returns on his investment made nigh 16 years ago!

At least the girls look adorable! They seemed to have "fun". Fun= Less tears than I expected! Madigan was pretty brave about the whole event and Maeve took some loops around the ice with Daddy! I'm tossing the idea of joining a beginner woman's league to see if I can't undo some of this pregnancy damage!