Find of the day

I love a good thrift store find - and when I spotted this little treasure in the basement of the local mcc shop, behind the swinging doors reading "staff only".....I nicely asked the man how much for that one?! He said $12. I wasn't sure. It was very dirty. The more I thought about it, the more I knew I would regret leaving it behind. So it came home, and with a little bit of elbow grease, it cleaned up very well! And, well, you can see what Miss N. thinks of her new toy bench! She climbed on and off that thing all afternoon.

Work in Progress.

Kitchen/eating area:
Turned into desk/pantry area:
(oh, we have come a loooong way....)We finally bought/put up the shelves above our desk area!
Now I need to fill up the photo frames,
and arrange and rearrange everything until it's good.
But I thought I better show you now -
before I start on the next project,
and this whole desk area gets full of clutter =)

baby

I had to document this. Little girlie's first baby. Well, she has had a baby doll before, but not like this. She saw it in the store today - and immediately wanted it. I handed it to her, and she clutched that baby doll so hard. She even did one of those toddler shakes as the hugged the baby so tight.

She proceeded to kiss her baby. And give it more hugs. With the cutest little smug grin on her face. We brought baby home, and she has been close to N's side ever since. So sweet.

My boy is back!

Oh, it's been one looong week. My happy-go-lucky, hyper, talkative boy has been gone. He was replaced by a sick little boy who couldn't seem to say anything in a tone that didn't sound like the worst whining you have ever heard. The kind that makes you want to pull your hair out. A boy who needed naps at the weirdest times of day, sometimes till 7pm, completely screwing up any kind of regular bedtime. And one who wouldn't eat anything due to a tummy ache. Oh. What a week.

He got an ear infection. Which lead to antibiotics. This lead to a very upset stomach. And no eating. So out I trotted to the health food store to get him a pro-biotic. Hoping that would cure the tummy aches. After no reprieve after a day or so. Off to the next doctor we went. Now he's onto new antibiotics, and today for the first time. He ate! And he acted like himself. It was such a huge relief.

Being a parent is hard. Especially when your kid is sick. And the whining....OH the whining. You try everything in your power to be sympathetic to that fact that they are feeling rotten, but all you want to do is punish them for being so ridiculous. Finally he is better. And now if he is being ridiculous, at least I know it is just because he's three =).

The big old bus that could.

I really like change. And it's a good thing - because this year we have made enough chances to last most people a decade (or two). But sometimes life is just like that. At least, sometimes our life is just like that. And I wouldn't have it any other way.

For the past four years, in the background of our ever-busy lives, my husband has been running a party bus company. It all started when he was offered a "free" bus from his home church. As my dad says, "sometimes you pay too little." Well, in this case, we paid too little. A lot of money went into this old bus to get it back running. And let me tell you - the time and energy that my dear husband put into that bus is unbelievable. I like to think of myself as a person who has some sticktoitiveness, but I honestly would have given up over a dozen times. Perseverance should be his middle name. Getting a bus on the road for passenger transport is no easy feat. Especially if you want to modify the interior, etc. But after jumping over every hoop and hurdle thrown his way, the bus was in operation.

It started out slow. Like most businesses. A buddy booking it here, a youth group there. But he plowed along. With some Facebook advertising and good web browsing search results, the phone began to ring. And over the past year, business has picked up. And now, well, business has really picked up. For example, he has been out every night this week, with at least one job, sometimes two.


My husband is now a full time business owner. It still hasn't really sunk in. We are gearing up to get 2 more vehicles to add to the fleet in the next months. It is exciting - and I am under no impression that it will be easy. I grew up having a dad who was always a business owner. Hours can be long. Months can be good and bad. But just knowing that he built this company from scratch is so rewarding.

He had a dream. Worked ridiculously hard. And now - it is becoming a reality. And I am so proud of him.

Breaking news:

Spotted today in Langley:

It has not yet been confirmed is this is an actual "outlet" store - as the helpful workers at Old Navy had only seen the sign today for the first time as well. But I am staying very hopeful at this point.

Little Buddies

Waiting......
......and waiting......

Ya! It's here!