Life ¤ Love ¤ Laughter ¤ Linds

...when I think of how Kevin 'courted' me.   I know it's such an old fashioned word but really, that's how he made me feel.   As much as I'm a sucker for romance novels, I'm not naive enough to believe that life is a fairy tale and that happily ever after happens without an effort made on both parts.   I was never a damsel in distress unless you count the few times I ended up broken down on the side of the road.    Kevin was a romantic - surprises and dinners and flowers and more.  He won me over with his charm, his endless patience, his wry sense of humour, his firm and steady personality. We've known each other for 10 years.  We've been marred for 6 - yesterday was our anniversary.  You would think by now, the shininess of our relationship would have worn off.  Don't get me wrong, most of the time, with two kids underfoot and busy lives, the grime of daily life means you have to look for that glimmer but when I lo...

It's Father's Day tomorrow.  It's also our 6th anniversary.  On June 20th, 2010, I not only will I miss and remember my incredible Opa (maternal grandfather),  marvel at my industrious Pake (paternal grandfather), celebrate my incomprable father, but I get to celebrate 6 years of mostly blissful marriage to the love of my life.   10 years that we've known each other, 6 as husband and wife, 4 as the most amazing father I've been privileged to know (and that's alot of amazing dad's when you realise the size of my extended family!) For now, I'm going to post laud to my dear old dad and save the anniversary accolades for tomorrow.   I have tender memories (and some not so tender as most of us do!) of Daddy & Me.   I can remember 'working' in the greenhouses with him, fishing, camping, snowmobiling (and then having to pee in a snowbank - no small feat for a girl in bib-front snowpants), cuddling when I couldn't sleep and he w...

Man, this year is just flying by!  I know they say that happens as you get older, but really, c'mon now, I'm not even 29....    Kaleb has less than 2 weeks of school left and it's crazy to think how it seems like yesterday we were taking pictures of his first day of JK.  It's also amazing the things they pick up when their out from the sheltered life that mommy encourages.  I'm by no means overprotective and they are probably exposed to stuff that is slightly older than age-appropriate at times as a result of having slightly older kids in the house... but some of the things they say leads to some pretty mixed reactions - laughter and the knowledge I should probably address it because it's wrong. The most common refrain we here these days is the ever-popular "Well, you're not my (blank) anymore."  This always comes on the heels of someone they are playing with not wanting to play by their rules.  Everyone wants to lead and no one wants to follow...

...hubby.   Kev's the best.   I know I don't always show how much I appreciate him (and his hard work) but I really do.   He is an amazing husband and father and I can't imagine how different (and lacking) my life would be if we had not met. ...kids.   They light up my lives.  Two very active, excitable, crazy little monkeys come with their challenges and endless patience-testing occasions, but moreso, they come with hugs, cuddles, kisses, funny antics, and a ton of moments that make me stand back in awe and pride that I am so blessed to be their mother. ...kitchen gadgets.   I figured I should get the important stuff out of the way first, but now that everyone knows my priorities are straight I want to rave about my new T-Fal Actifry !   (Check it out on the T-Fal website .)   Kaleb won't eat potatoes unless they're in french fry form and I was feeling guilty feeding him the frozen variety too oft...

I've been remiss in my posting but I have a good excuse.  Really!  Honestly!  We've been busy and THIS weekend is only going to get a whole lot busier.  I'm sure I posted about my 'worries' re: the whole daycare situation.... well it's worked itself out for now and I'm looking after a good friend's little boys for the mornings.  They're close in age to my monkeys and the school schedule is the same so it works well all around.   This week was our first with this switch up in the schedule and while it's going well, change always takes it toll on us. Speaking of change, thanks to my magnificent, wonderful, generous mother, Kev & I put a huge dent into our main floor rejuvenation project.   Mom (and Dad, I suppose), took the boys last weekend (while tending to my youngest brother recovering from knee surgery - brave souls!)  The absence of my precious babies means that we were able to tackle the next step, also known as Phase 2:...

Sounds relaxing, doesn't it?   Well let me tell you, it wasn't!  Selecting paint colours stresses me out.  I don't know why.  Maybe because I have no eye for decor and HATE the painting process - so whatever I choose, I'm stuck with until it's so bad I can't live with it anymore.   (Helloooo?!? 6 years in a 7 year old house and we still have builder white on the walls!) Friday night we thought we'd get a start on our remodel beginning with a trip to Home Depot.  Usually I love browsing at Home Depot but Friday night we had two cranky kids with us who didn't want to sit still and then, after multiple trips to the bathroom, Mommy had enough, Daddy had enough and all we did was pick out our paint and supplies.     After all the suggestions on my Facebook note query, we opted for "A Quiet Moment" for the kitchen, with "Traditional" as our accent wall and "Cup of Cocoa" as our main colour throughout.    It...

Living Room (Dining Room) from front entrance: Carpeted Stairs - how should we cut the carpet? Family Room (Great Room) from eat-in kitchen: Looking through to front door from fireplace in family room: Check out previous post for my design dilemmas!