We've taken on a lot, and somehow managed to stay in tact. Living life now as a family of 4!

I feel like I can taste this upcoming vacation. It tastes like hot apple cider, sleep, pepper nuts and delicious food in Mexico that I haven't tasted yet. These days I feel a strange combination of energy and exhaustion. On the weekend and in the evenings I move from one task to the next (candles! cookies! Wrapping and shipping! Choosing! Shopping! Planning! Laundry!) with enthusiasm that has Jake exhausted, unbelievably. Usually it's the other way around. At work during the day, however, I'm just barely hanging on. I need a break from the kids, from the drama, from the constant problem solving and crisis management. Example: Yesterday, Grade-8-Girl-A came into my room very upset and wanting to talk. Considering she usually just acts out, this is a big deal. She proceeds to tell me that she is being bullied by Grade-8-Girls B,C, and D, who are in the same class. She feels lonely, she's cutting herself again, she's throwing up her food, she's so desperately u

Jake is already sick of hearing me talk about this, and I am (obviously) soo excited about it, I have to bring it to you, my internet friends. Plus, I took more pictures than necessary. I'm making candles! Beeswax ones! I love love love beeswax candles, but they are so expensive! You know what's cheaper? Buying beeswax and then making them yourself. Plus, it's fun. However, beyond the rolled beeswax candles we made for the wedding, I haven't really ever made candles. However, I have watched a youtube video or two, so I figured I could trouble shoot whatever I needed to. Very first, I had to figure out how to get the huge hunk of wax (not pictured) into smaller, melt-a-ble chunks. A hammer and old chisel did the trick on that score. Then, I gave a chipped measuring cup new life as my wax cup. Perfect! I knew that wax should be melted in a double-boiler-kind-of-way, and that in theory, the method of putting a glass measuring cup in boiling water should work (I don

On Saturday I went to one of my favourite places in the world. I always find what I want, or they custom-tailor something that is almost right to fit. It's amazing, especially considering that I normally feel that pants shopping is the worst of all the kinds of shopping. Let's just say that my body does not conform to the North American ideal of size and shape. Except at Sargent Avenue Blue Jeans . Shopping there is like nothing I have ever experienced anywhere. First of all, if you look at that link, you'll notice that it isn't anything special from the outside. In fact, the first time I went there I thought I might be walking into a mafia den (which, let's be honest, it may still well be) - there are no windows, bars on all doors and (covered) windows, and it's in a bit of a dodgy area. When you get inside, you are greeted with pile upon pile of every imaginable make and model of blue jeans. (Full disclosure: I snapped these pictures surreptitiously with m

So November is over! And I did not write every day. I did come close, though. In my defence, I ran out of creative juices. On Friday I sent a text to a coworker that said 'That payed off!' and although I knew that it was not quite correct, I could not for the life of me identify what I had spelled wrong. Yup. THAT tired. Yesterday was a very exciting day. We went to Southern MB to pick up our new dishes! They were a gift from a whole host of people and they are GORGEOUS. If you want a beautiful handmade set of dishes, this is the way to go. I'll have to blog more about that another time. With pictures. We also hung out with L's mom, and I was able to talk myself into getting a bag of her poppy-cock (caramel covered popcorn with nuts), which is quite frankly the very best version of this I have ever had. It's all in the caramel. In the evening people came over and we had tea and talked and laughed and it was delightful. LOVE LOVE LOVE the house even more on the