What a day!

Do you ever feel like life just keeps repeatedly kicking you in the ass?? I sure do!
Our family has not had the greatest start to 2007, who needs cable when you live reality t.v!

WE have gone through what I like to call a very long series of unfortunate events!

Just when you think you've seen it all, my heart is put to yet another test this one the scariest of all!!
I received a call from my hubby at around 10:30am, Normally I enjoy calls from him but not of this nature! Turns out our son did not return to class after recess and they could not find him!
Now I'm sure if the school had not been fully aware of our series of unfortunate events this temporary misplacement of my child would have gone a lot smoother! Q~ball is not the type of kid to to just disappear without a logical explanation!

My hubby immediately upon receiving the phone call from the school left work and went to the school where there still was no sign of Q! His stuff was all there boots, coat, backpack! Where the hell is he? Everyone is frantic (teachers, friends,parents!!) The R.C.M.P where called and put on alert & my hubby and our employee began the search driving around the school area & home! I felt devastated and completely helpless while my child was out there somewhere missing! I'm not one to sit around in situations like this so me and Taylor decided to head to the school! I ran as far as I could pushing Taylor in the buggy! (against her will she wanted to walk but that would take WAY to long!!) I'm not in very good shape so running wasn't the best idea! !
I only had one thing on my mind at this time MUST FIND MY BABY, my deepest fear was that a certain person responsible for our families prior series of unfortunate events was also responsible for this!
Half way to the school my hubby called me on the cell, the search party had been called off & he had been found safe and sound in the reading room @ school READING!!! THANK GOD!!
My heart finally slowed down and I began to catch my breath!
Q is part of a one to one reading program at school, as it turns out the grown ups in charge of the reading had picked him up after recess to go read...neglecting to inform his poor teacher! I can only imagine how she must have felt as she placed that phone call to Qs dad! "Hi Q's Dad,this is Q's teacher, turns out we have accidentally misplaced your child, he did not return to class after recess and we are not entirely sure where he may have gone!" I certainly would not want to make that call! She really is a great teacher and I am so thankful Q has had her! We owe her some serious morning coffees to make up for all the DRAMA we have caused! She was extremely relieved to know he was in fact safe @ reading and Q has promised never

to go off without telling someone!

Those 20 mins while I feared for my sons safety where absolutely the most horrific 20 mins of my life!! My heart definitely thinks it could do without all this excitement! I cant help but agree!
Well the saying goes...When it rains it pours and WE have been flooding around here lately but
THE SUN WILL COME OUT TOMORROW!! What doesn't kill you makes you stronger!
Its early in the year, guess we may as well get all the crap out of the way right off the start so we can relax and enjoy the rest of the year! I think we have definitely gone through a years worth of crap so the rest of the year should be packed full of happiness! That something to be optimistic about! Tomorrows only a day away!

Every BLACK cloud has a SILVER lining!!

Keep on SMILING*!!

Playtime!

It was a Georgous day today!

It was an absolutely beautiful spring like day outside today! The temperature was 10 degrees Celsius! The little princess and I abandoned our inside duty's and spent most of the late morning early afternoon outside! We played with the neighbours kitty for a bit, that lead to a walk to the store for some candy:) It felt so nice to be out of the house without all the winter gear on! I was a little over zealous though and attempted our walk in flip flops! Ya that didn't work out so well! I made it around the corner and to the bottom of the hill the leads to the store and had to go back for some socks and shoes! Turns out not all the snow had melted off the sidewalk! Ill give it a few more weeks before I do that again!
The snow in the front yard is rapidly vanishing and that leaves me feeling super optimistic about the beautiful weather that is finally here!! Winter is WAY too long if you ask me! It could snow Dec 1 and all melt January 2 and that would be a perfect winter!
The cold months always leave me feeling low! I think its the lack of sunshine!
I have walked more this past week then I did in the last 5 months combined and I feel awesome! I'm sure my car being on his death bed has a lot to do with my increased exercise its been a good thing as the exercise is long over due!

Here's to Sun Shinning & SNOW MELTING!! Bring on the Flip Flops!!

Count down to The Sweet Escape!!

99 days and counting!! I don't think June 12 is going to come fast enough! What exactly is this The Sweet Escape I am very impatiently awaiting?? The Sweet Escape is the title to Gwen Stefani's newest Album and the name of her up coming tour! The Calgary Saddle dome will be graced by her presence and a performance on June 13 and among the other 1000's of screaming fans I will also be in attendance! A couple of girlfriends and I will be road tripping into Calgary for a Girls Mid Week ESCAPE!! I have only been to one other concert in my whole life (SANTANA) and I could not be any more excited about going to see someone who has actually been famous in my lifetime! (not that Santana isn't an awesome artist he just experienced his true FAME long before I was even born!)
Gwen has sang lead vocals for the group NO DOUBT since the late 80's, In 2003 she branched outside of music and introduced her own clothing label called L.A.M.B, In 2004 she spread her wings even more and soared off as a Solo Artist! Her first album was titled Love.Angel.Music.Baby. = L.A.M.B
My friend had been talking about the upcoming tour for months! (Since they posted the tour date, but long before tickets went on sale!) Her excitement made me wish I could find a way to go with them! Ive never really had any girlfriends that I can go do stuff with never, mind road tripping and concerts! I settled down into family mode @ 17 so concerts and road trips weren't at the top of my to do list. At first I didn't think there was any way I could go, the show is in the middle of the week and its during our busiest time of year for work SUMMER, Who will watch the kids?? Well has luck would have it my in laws are moving to town the end of MARCH! Perfect! They will watch the kids! Now I just have to convince my Hubby to let me go 4 hours away for 3 days without the kids and HIM! I'm cute & often irresistible so I figured if worse came to worse Id just pull out my charm!
Sometimes if you wish for something hard enough it can come true!! =) HE said YES!
WE have our tickets!(really great seats from what I understand!!) Our hotel reservations have been made, Now we just have to PATIENTLY wait for it to be June!!
Wish me luck I'm not always the most patient person!! Just ask my hubby! I am already torturing him with GWEN, GWEN, & more GWEN, He may bury me in the back yard with my Gwen Cd before June even gets here!!=)

Would you like to see if The Sweet Escape will be visiting a town near you?? ~~Click Here http://www.gwenstefani.com/tour/default.aspx for Tour Dates & Tickets!!

C&K Masonry- Specializing in Cultured & Natural Stone

My Favorite Natural Stone Projects!

5 point GRANITE -each piece carefully cut from templates to ensure a perfect fit!

Split Face Boulder - boulders laid face in and out for extra special effect! most often rocks are layed face in or "North American style" In Mason terms. Face in is referred to as "German Style"

*Face=inside of rock , Rocks true beauty is hidden within!

As you can clearly see I finally learned how to add sidebar features to the site! I'm very proud of myself ! This was a very big accomplishment for me! =) ~~claps:)

You'll notice some Pictures on the right sidebar Titled C&K Masonry,

Allow me to introduce our bread and butter! My hubby is a Mason by trade and we run our own little company. We moved to the Kootenays (my hubby's hometown) this past summer we thought we may as well cash in on the great economical boom the area is undergoing. Masonry is a dying trade that is extremely high in demand right now, from where we sit this is a great thing...means very little to no competition! Our first winter here has been kind of quiet for work so I am anxiously awaiting summer so we can dive head first into continuing to beautify our little Paradise 1 rock at a time!!

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Could your home use a make-over?? Consider some Stone!

Visit http://kodiakmountain.com for great cultured stone products and ideas, Plus locate a Dealer/Mason near YOU.

Live in the Kootenays? Would you like a stone make-over for your home? Like our work?

Drop us a line! courntie_8110@hotmail.com

We'd be more than happy to answer all your stone questions and provide you with a free no obligation quote!!=)

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May require Kleenex!

I received an email today from a dear friend in Ontario, its PEAK tax season right now and she works for H&R Block so her free time is pretty non existant until May, It was super nice to hear from here during all the madness! The email was a god awful chain letter (thank you=) with it was this incredibly moving poem that I just had to share!! I could hardly finish reading from the tears in my eyes! I had to go put on a sweater from the chills!

Get your Kleenex ready and ENJOY!!

A Poem That Gives You Goosebumps(they weren't lying!)...
A drunk man in an Oldsmobile They said had run the light That caused the six-car pileup On 109 that night. When broken bodies lay about "And blood was everywhere," "The sirens screamed out eulogies," For death was in the air. "A mother, trapped inside her car," Was heard above the noise; Her plaintive plea near split the air: "Oh, God, please spare my boys!" She fought to loose her pinned hands; "She struggled to get free," But mangled metal held her fast In grim captivity. Her frightened eyes then focused "On where the back seat once had been," But all she saw was broken glass and Two children's seats crushed in. Her twins were nowhere to be seen; "She did not hear them cry, " "And then she prayed they'd been thrown free, " "Oh, God, don't let them die! " Then firemen came and cut her loose, " "But when they searched the back, " "They found therein no little boys, " But the seat belts were intact. They thought the woman had gone mad "And was traveling alone, " "But when they turned to question her, " They discovered she was gone. Policemen saw her running wild And screaming above the noise "In beseeching supplication, " Please help me find my boys! They're four years old and wear blue shirts; "Their jeans are blue to match."" "One cop spoke up, ""They're in my car, " And they don't have a scratch. They said their daddy put them there "And gave them each a cone, " Then told them both to wait for Mom To come and take them home. "I've searched the area high and low, " But I can't find their dad. "He must have fled the scene, " "I guess, and that is very bad." "The mother hugged the twins and said, " "While wiping at a tear, " "He could not flee the scene, you see, " "For he's been dead a year." "The cop just looked confused and asked, " "Now, how can that be true? " "The boys said, ""Mommy, Daddy came " "And left a kiss for you."" " He told us not to worry "And that you would be all right, " And then he put us in this car with "The pretty, flashing light. " "We wanted him to stay with us, " "Because we miss him so, " "But Mommy, he just hugged us tight " And said he had to go. He said someday we'd understand "And told us not to fuss, " "And he said to tell you, Mommy, " "He's watching over us." The mother knew without a doubt "That what they spoke was true, " "For she recalled their dad's last words, " " I will watch over you." The fire men's notes could not explain "The twisted, mangled car, " And how the three of them escaped Without a single scar. "But on the cop's report was scribed, " "In print so very fine, " An angel walked the beat tonight on Highway 109."

Lets Get CRAFTY!!

Ive attempted to write about 6 different post, trying desperately to write something that's worthy of publishing! For my 7Th attempted I thought Id go with something fun and useful! And hope I actually post it! Then pray someone actually reads it! ENJOY!!

Its March already! Can you believe it where is time going? March break will be here in a couple of weeks, I'm already not looking forward to hearing "I'M BORED" for 2 weeks! We have no plans to go anywhere like some lucky March Breakers, so we will be left to entertain ourselves around the house! Both of my kids adore doing crafts with me and it is a fun way to pass the time and decorate the house! One of my favorite crafts to do is Paper Mache! Its cheap(make from old newspaper, flour & water & a balloon) and its something that's best done over an extended period of time so it keeps us busy for DAYS!! My first non school paper mache project was when my son was about 4 (note to anyone with small children PAPER MACHE is Not the greatest craft for little people! Hello Messy!Both my kids don't like the paste all over their hands so they feel the need to wash after they dip every strip!

I normally let the kids put on the first couple of layers then finish the rest when they are in bed! The Key to a good mache project is lots & lots of layers!! For our 1st project we choose to make a Piggy Bank, the shape of a balloon makes for a perfect piggy! We covered ours with about 10 layers a mache, letting each couple of layers dry in between applications, If you put to many on at once it takes FOREVER to dry!! Once all your layers are on and you've let it dry (should be ROCK HARD) I suggest leaving it for at least 24 hours after last layer is applied, you need to pop the balloon inside and now your ready for the best part of any craft project!

Its MAKE-OVER time!! I had a can a silver spray paint left over from something so I decided to make our piggy silver! It was for a boy so a pink one didn't seem appropriate! The spray paint took less time then painting it would have but either way would work! All my other projects have been painted by hand with kid friendly tempera paint! (available at most dollar stores, my absolute favorite place to pick up craft supplies) If your painting by hand you will need to apply several layers of paint in order to cover up the newsprint! If you painting yours a light colour I would suggest putting on a "primer" layer or 2 of white paint to aid in covering up the print! Once your critter is completely painted and dry your ready to add its Features.

For our pig we cut out felt hearts for the eyes and glued googly eyes to it , made it look a little more life like, the snout is actually the hole where you can empty out the contents inside (this way you don't have to smash it if your child would like some of the money out of it!) We glued on a LARGE pom pom making sure to leave a "mouth" at the bottom to get the coins out!

We tattooed her with foamy flower shapes we had in our craft box.

We also had some foam letters so I had my son name his piggy...he choose "Maretza" she was a guest on Dora the Explorer that week! The pictures at the top of the page are ones I took today so I could show a finished PIGGY, Please keep in mind shes 3 years old and has survived a few moves! I apologize for my the photo quality and the arrangement on the page this was my first time adding pictures! Ill work on that for next time!

Here's a recipe I use for the paste: small projects use ; 1 cup flour mixed with 2 cups water, I prefer to use hot or warm water as it mixes with the flour better and it feels much nicer on your hands! If you are doing several balloons doubling the recipe is a good idea. Mix the flour and water until it is a pasty,glue like substance, I prefer to have mine a little thick as I have found it hardens faster. (add extra water as need to get desired consistency)

Other Materials needed:

Newspaper strips, (1 inch to 1.5 inch width works best)

Paint

Glue (I use hot glue but white glue will work if the kids want to glue on their own decorations)

Felt/ Scrap fabric (cut out eyes and ears)

Googly Eyes (if your making a critter or person)

Pipe cleaner for a tail (wrap it around a pencil then slide off to get a perfect squiggly tail)

May I also suggest adding....

Glitter (try adding it to the paint to make it sparkle)

Foamy shapes/ flowers/ bows

Anything else you'd like to make-over your new friend!

**If your making a piggy bank an adult needs to cut a slit in the top of the pig after it is dry before you paint. (you need a place to drop you coins!)

***These can make great gifts! You can personalize each one to suit the person you are gifting it to! ie:Baby shower bank, Bridal Shower Bank, Birthday Bank, New Car Bank, College Fund you get the idea=)

I'm sure we will be doing some new projects over the break so stay tuned!!

Start collecting newspapers now and give it a try yourself! You'll be glad you did!

HAPPY PAPER MACHE'ing