Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Tiptoe through the tulips or smelling the roses...

I have to admit that lately I have been out taking walks in the lovely weather we had been having. Highs to where we were in mid-season jackets and the sun was shining brightly.  We were enjoying our family walks and spring had definitely sprung.



This week, the cold came back and the skies are back to being grey and filled with ominous clouds threatening rain at any second. Winter coats are back on.



This past weekend we did make it to a Nature and Bio sort of small festival and my daughter was able to go on her first pony ride. No photos of that shared, but these photos were taken on walks around our neighborhood.



I miss living in the city sometimes, but I must admit there are definitely benefits to living out in the country. :)

Saturday, April 16, 2016

Cupcake Party

We decorated cupcakes when a niece and nephew came over for snack time. I like to come up with little activities for them and last cupcake decorating, they weren't present and were interested in trying it. Last time, I had a mix I found on sale, but this time I made a homemade cupcake recipe from Natasha's Kitchen. I halved the recipe and it was the perfect amount for everyone to have 1 then each kid had one to take home. I just made a standard vanilla icing for them and they were a big hit. You know it's a good sign when kids prefer eating to decorating. ;)


I did a very quick decorating set up. The kids were ages 3, 4.5, and 6.5. I didn't want to have too many things on the table because I didn't want to overwhelm them. The crocodile gummy candy and marshmallow were more for eating than decorating. Each child had a cup with a bendy straw, napkin and plate (cups and plates from Ikea). Yes, there is a placemat and tablecloth which made clean up much easier. :)



I set up tea for the adults and we all had cupcakes to eat with it.

I forgot to take photos of all the cupcakes, but here are a few of them



Overall, it was really fun. It just required getting the kids started and helping them once in a while. The kids loved it. Did I already mention that? And it doesn't require a lot of prep. I think a more "sophisticated" version will appear for birthday parties in the future. ;)

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

Great Grandmother + Gardening

My daughter is very fortunate to still have a great grandparent in her life. He great-grandmother is approaching 90, but still lives on her own. She's an amazing woman for a number of reasons and I am happy my daughter is able to get to spend time with her. Unfortunately, my parents and grandparents  passed away well before she was born. She had a set of great grandparents up until 18 months ago when her paternal great-grandfather passed away.
Enough babbling, here are a few photos from her great-grandmother's garden. Yes, she still manages to garden. :)





And lastly, a bouquet of wildflowers my daughter picked (with permission) for me held by my husband :)



Monday, April 11, 2016

April Showers and "Check-in"

It's the second week of Spring vacation (yes, school vacation again for my little one). The first week flew by because we were busy and not home much, actually. I feel like the second week is flying by as well. It's been raining a lot the past few days. I just realized I complain a lot about the rain.

I can't believe April is nearly halfway over. Time is really getting away from me. Like most people, have loads on my to-do list. I hope to get a temporary set-up for my jewelry making soon so I can get to work on that. My fingers have been itching to try out some new stuff. :)



More work on the house and organizing as usual. We have some family outings planned this week as well so hopefully, I will be able to share some photos of some of it.

Spring has definitely sprung. Hopefully, the rain will let up soon. :)