My life has been taken over by bowling

On a good note, we are alive and well!! :) I apologize to my family and friends for having disappeared! Our lives have been taken over by this wonderful sport:



Maelie practiced every weekday except for Friday. She is slowly improving . Her team is quite good... not consistent, but good nonetheless. We are looking forward to her 4 Step tournament on February 12th for the regionals, and if they place, the provincials on the 26th. It seems so close yet so far away! We will be practicing 5 days a week to make sure we are ready.

All these practices mean we need to plan plan plan! Meals are made in the slowcooker since I don't have much time to cook. As for cleaning, well I am implementing a plan so that hopefully, everyone in the household can participate in chores... not just me. I seriously think it is not fair for one person to carry the burden of cleaning the common areas in the house all the time. I also don't want to *ask* anyone to do anything. Asking does not make me comfortable, and I think I should be comfortable in my own home. So I created a list where everyone can choose a chore or 2 during the week. It is completely up to all the members in this household... but in order for me to stay happy and sane, it's best for everyone to do chores! LOL

Here is Maelie's Hexbug playground. She played with her friend Melyna yesterday while us moms crafted. They played with the Hexbugs for hours!! Today, she invited Rebecca and Lorry to play so they spent a long time playing with the Hexbugs as well! Glad to see that her Christmas gifts were not a waste :)

Bare with us for a while, we will be quite busy and therefore posting a bit less regularly.

Maelie's American Girl

For Christmas, Maelie used some Christmas money and we ordered an American Girl. She doesn't really *play* with dolls, however she really wanted one that she could dress up as well as do her hair! Needless to say, after paying what we did for the doll, I didn't want to start paying more for the doll's wardrobe than I do for my own! So i got a few online , Simplicity and McCall's patterns and got to work. I really really am basic at sewing !! I made her some cute skinny jeans!

We are not sure if this top is a dress or a long shirt. This outfit was a surprise as Maelie was away for a sleepover. When she walked in, it's the first thing she saw and was ECSTATIC!

Some of the cheap clearance fabric I got was stretchy pink and stretchy aqua. I made some little legging style pants (same as the jeans pattern). It's SO easy!!

We can't see it very well on the picture but this top is reddish and has sequins on it. Maelie uses it as a sleeveless vest and usually ties a red ribbon around her waist. It's so adorable to see her mix and match different outfits.

I had to almost bribe her to get a simple picture !!

My next goal is to teach Maelie how to sew the basics. I know she will hava a ton of fun learning. Her great-grandma Matante would be so proud!! :)

Sen vs Devils

Maelie and Bill went to see the Devils !

Well the Devils ended up losing but it was a really good game though :) They had a wonderful Daddy / Daughter time while I was in bed getting some sleep! Worked perfectly for everyone haha!!



A night out

Can you guess where Maelie and Bill are heading out to tonight?



Hmmmmm..... ???



Could it be....



A New Jersey Devil's hockey game?? Why yes it is!!

New Year's supper

For supper on New Year's Day, we went to Montana's. I suggested that maelie bring along her Cranium Brain Break. It was a great idea because it took a while before we got our food! I think everyone with a child 8+ should get this game! It is packed with 1 minute games and so you can play while you are waiting for a meal, and appointment, etc....! And it is so much better than just using technology to entertain your children!



Once our food arrived, it was quick to put it away. We had an awesome time!! By the look on Maelie's face.... she had an awesome time eating dessert!

Happy New Year 2012!

It's already 2012. A leap year!

2011 was a wonderful year ... good times with friends and family, new adventures, old adventures, crafting, cooking, loving, changing.

What I am looking forward to in 2012 is:

- being creative
- being happy
- enjoying the life I have been given
- loving my friends family
- decluttering and organizing
- cooking wholesome foods



I would really like to do Project 365... which would mean taking at least 1 picture a day for the whole year! I guess this year would be project 366!

Happy New Year too everyone ! :) May this be the best yet!

A night on the town !

At least one person in this house will still be awake to ring in the New Year!