Blog Recommendations Please

Our friend Chris {unbeknownst to me} snapped this as I'm looking at our Paris guide book {again}.
From our week there in 2009 with the Campbells.

I need help expanding my reading list.

I want to find some great little blogs.

I would also love to follow some local bloggers but have no idea how to find them.

I got to thinking about this because my amazing friend Charmian who blogs at stoneofjoy honoured me with the Liebster Award.

Now I need to pass the award on to 5 small deserving blogs and I only know a few.

{Small ones that is, I follow lots of big fish.}

Anyone have any friends who blog or have found some gems you think I would like?

Please and thank you.

{Very} Mini Road-Trip

We meant to go to Calgary on the weekend.

It was Jeff's best friend {and our best man}'s engagement party on friday night.

We packed up the new ride and headed out.

Only to be stuck on the QE2 {between exits} for almost an hour!

That's bad enough but then Cedric woke up hungry and Fiona woke up having to pee.

CRISIS!

We were at a standstill so Jeff ran around to the driver's seat and I jumped into the back.

I then proceeded to drape myself over the carseat and nurse my little man.

{This is a skill I learned on a 14 hour roadtrip we took with Fiona at 5 months old.

I'll tell you about that adventure some other time.}

Fiona on the other hand I distracted until we could inch our way to the next exit and find a bathroom.

I'm not anti-peeing-on-the-side-of-the-road.

In this case though there were hundreds of cars just sitting with a perfect view.

Not to mention the emergency vehicles zipping down the shoulders.

Well, thank goodness we have friends that live right around where we got stuck.

Even better, they live in a lake town.

The best, they have 2 girls who Fiona (and we) love.

Now for the pics.

Little Green Car

While driving a couple days back this little car pulled behind us.

I tried frantically to get pictures at stoplights without much success.

Then, amazingly, it pulled into the same parking lot as us and I got it.

Anyone know what kind of car this is?

I Don't Think I Love Any Food This Much

We had a great night at Taste of Edmonton with Diana.

Or as Fiona likes to say, "Diyna".

 We had some great food but dessert took the cake {not literally} for Fiona.

She made sure none went to waste.

Evidence below.

Hi Ho, Hi Ho

It's off to work I go!

Me a long time ago with one of my students {she was great!}.  It was hard to find a work pic ok?
On a side note, I really think I need bangs again.

I decided to take advantage of the small amount per week I can make on EI.

That means as of today I will be going back to work for a whopping 4 hours!

I think this is best for everyone.

I will have 4 hours straight without a child in my arms.

We make a little extra cash.

And, Fiona and Cedric get to hang out with Grandma!

It does feel very soon.

I had a little panic attack at the thought that my mat leave is coming to an end.

Then I told myself "it's 4 hours, get it together" and proceeded to call EI and tell them of my plan.

I was then informed that I have 2 more weeks to work these hours without it affecting my payment.

That's right, you can no longer work any hours without it affecting how much you get from EI.

Apparently there is the potential to make more money if you want to work more hours.

I do not.

I only want to work a little for some sanity.  

All the while maximizing my fleeting Mommy time.

"F'ona Have a Shots?"

Said Fiona innocently right before Cedric got poked 3{!} times today.

She soon saw how much he enjoyed them and changed her mind.

She was a great support for me for Cedric during round 2 of immunizations.

Instead of posting a pathetic "after" pic of him sleeping it off, like I did last time, I give you this.

A video of him jumping his little heart out this morning.

Oblivious to what was soon to come.

Bonus video:

Here's Fiona showing off then getting distracted wanting to see the "pitchas" of herself on my phone.

She used to pronounce pictures like above but with a b instead of p.

It cracked us up but was slightly inappropriate. 

This is getting better.

U-Pick

We have plenty to go around so don't all rush over now.

It has been so busy the last couple of weeks and the growing conditions have been so great that this is what the front of the shop looks like.

This is another fantastic job for the student we've got working for us this summer.

We're doing our part to convince him that he should get a good education.

On second thought, you may need to rush.

With any luck this gorgeous foliage will be gone by the end of the day.

Such a Sad Day in Colorado

Maybe it's because I will always love Colorado.

Maybe it's because I have so many dear friends there.

Maybe it's because I still have an imbalance of hormones postpartum.

I'm just so sad about the shooting in Aurora this morning.

My heart is breaking for all those affected.

I'm hugging my babes a little extra today.

Putting Me To Shame (Completely)

You know, I like to fancy myself a decent dancer.

Then I watch something like this and, well...

just watch it.

It starts slow so stick with it.

Aaaarrrrr!

That's my scream of frustration.

I am now well aware of what it sounds like.  

My little mirror named Fiona has taken on the habit.

It's amazing how you don't realize you're doing or saying something until your 2-year-old starts.

Back to the scream.

There are a couple reasons to do so.

#1

We found out that the loan that we were told was approved is in fact not approved.

Now we're starting from square one to get this equipment.

We keep repeating Jeff's mantra.

"If it was easy, everyone would do it."

{It makes us feel better, ok?}

#2

While getting our financing in place for our new money-saving-much-more-practical-for-the-fam vehicle we were asked whether we had settled the $4000 put into collections by Sasktel.

Sasktel? What's Sasktel?

Turns out that there's a guy in Saskatchewan with a name and SIN very close to Jeff's.

Said guy owes $4000, not us.

Seriously?

This actually happens?

What was I saying about our luck in this post and this post?

I give universe, you win, can we get on with it now?

Silver lining time.

We said "Bye bye Jeep" today and "Hello new car".

{We talk like that now thanks to the toddler.}

 Just FYI, I have the best husband ever.

He is currently driving a Yaris {!} to make our family's life easier.

If you know Jeff, you know what a sacrifice this is.

If you don't, trust me.

Jeff Just Might Kill Me

I had to wait until close to the end of the workday since Jeff really doesn't like people to know it's his birthday.

He's always been like that and I have a hard time relating since I want everyone to know when it's my birthday without having to tell them.

{Facebook has helped me out a lot.}

So now that it's pretty safe that no one at the shop will be reading this in the next hour and a half...

Happy Birthday Husband!

Couldn't Help Myself

I don't usually post on the weekends.

I wish I could say that's because we're always doing something super fun.

Sometimes that is true, more often we're working.

Remember how I said we would give our first born for really need another bodyman?

Well, we hired one.  Then he went and hurt his hand so hasn't started yet.

And the luck keeps rolling our way folks.

Anyways, back to the point.

I couldn't help posting today to share a miracle with you.

Jeff has finally taken a day off!

We have a real family day!

We spent the morning at the park.

{And this Mama even snuck off for a solo run!}

"So why are you wasting this precious time posting?" you ask?

I'll tell you.

I have 2 sleeping babes and one husband out detailing his car in preparation for sale!

Life is good.

Little Red Express All Spiffed Up

I finally have some after shots of the Little Red Express I showed you in this post.

They did a great job on this complete repaint.

Have a great weekend!

The Best $105 I Have Spent This Summer

It cost us $105 {$100+GST} exactly to have a useable outdoor living space.

I would have paid a lot more.

I've said before that we love sitting on our little stoop.

But the night we tried to eat dinner on it as a family was comical.

I knew something had to be done.

One Jysk table later and voila!  

Now we're lovin' the great outdoors from breakfast to bed.

Sesame Street Does it Again

Sorry to anyone who doesn't have a toddler in the house.

This is not for you.

Or maybe it is?  

Maybe you have a soft spot for this fuzzy blue guy.

Well, in our house, we're in love.

So when our dear friend Jenna sent this our way I couldn't resist sharing.

"See Friends?"

I was going to write about Sunday night dinner yesterday but it got trumped.

Yes, that's right, sleeping through the night trumps everything.

{It happened again last night.  I am one happy Mama!}

Back to Sunday night.

We went over to our future {knock-on-wood} business-parters' house for a BBQ.

At our house, outdoor dinners have been a must lately.

It may be hot outside but inside hit 28C yesterday and there's no breeze inside so...you get the point.

At their place though, the inside is air conditioned, air conditioned!

We only dream about central air while huddling around our meek little stand-up ac unit.

And that wasn't even the best part.

These guys are great, the whole family.

I can't wait to introduce them if this all works out.

Fiona talked non-stop for the rest of the night and the next day about her "friends".

We foresee a great partnership, and even better...

new drinking buddies.

Disclaimer:  We did not drink a lot Sunday night.  

What do you think we are?  Irresponsible?  

That was a school night and I'm breastfeeding.

Geez.

And honestly, we don't drink a lot but I do enjoy my wine and Jeff his beer.

Has Sleep Returned?

I made a promise to myself that I wasn't going to talk about the weather.

I did that last week and, well, it's a smidge boring.

I will just say that when I checked on Fiona at 3am last night, I found her in a pool {a pool!} of sweat.

I was up to check on her at 3am last night, not for my usual feeding, but to make sure my baby boy was still breathing.

You see, he did the unimaginable last night.

Ok, it's only unimaginable if you currently have an infant.

For us, unimaginable.

He slept for, wait for it.....

11 hours straight!

{This is where the angels sing.}

I had been getting the question, "Is Cedric sleeping through the night?", for the past 4 months.

My answer had evolved to, "Depends what you consider sleeping through the night."

Up until now, he would get his 7 hour stretch.

Problem was, it started at 8pm.

So for me, it still meant being up at 3am every morning to feed.

{I hadn't yet conceded to going to bed at 8pm.}

I'm hoping he makes a habit of this.

If so, I'll have to reteach myself to sleep through the night.

Just an After

Check out this Jaguar XKR.

They just finished the work so I don't have a before for you.

Nice after though.
*Correction - Jeff pointed out to me that this will be a true after once they reattach the bumper, oops!*

Please Excuse the Scatter

I finally got a chance to sit down and write today.

I have no inclination towards one topic.

This post may end up scattered but that's true to how I'm feeling so here goes.

The husband and I have been arguing about  discussing a new vehicle.

After much debate, he has decided to let his baby go.

Remember how I said our timing has been less than perfect lately in this post?

Yet another perfect example?

Buying a brand new Jeep SRT8 while in the thick of our childbearing years.

It was a moment of weakness for both of us.

Jeff for his love of the sound of that engine.

Me, well I didn't properly inform myself.

Since that purchase was made we have both known this moment was coming.

It is a ridiculous vehicle for us right now.

As Jeff said, "I've had my fun now it's time to be practical".

Thank you.

{I said that looking up while cupping my hands together.}

Also, we got a call from our banker.  

After a little lot of work we have been approved for our equipment loan.

I'm sure I should be more excited.

Luckily, Jeff is excited enough for 10 people.  

With this equipment we will be able to do larger jobs.

We will have the ability to get on insurance companies lists.

This is huge.

It's also a huge risk. {This is where I'm stuck.}

I keep trying to tell myself that this is business debt, good debt.  

That's a thing right?  Good debt?

I've convinced myself that it is to sleep at night.

And that's where I'm headed now in preparation for a 2am feeding.

Pawk Mommy, Pawk

It's breaking my heart that all Feefs wants to do is go to the park.

We all have a little cabin fever today.

If the picture is unclear, it's 12C here today and rainy.

{Just over 50F for my American friends, Happy 4th of July to ya!}

Yes, we are all still in our jammies, don't judge me.

Intact Husband...Check.

I don't really have enough words for this weekend.

I also don't want to risk "story-telling" my weekend.  I could see myself doing this.

If I had to choose a few I would say chill, delicious and too short.

The rest I will communicate with photos.

{I commissioned some of these since there was a much better photographer than me there.
Thanks Jules.}