Play Kitchen Update

It's finished (well, it's so close and the rest will be waiting until after we come home from our trip). This was a great project and my David did an amazing job.

Here's the before picture again:

And in process:

The big reveal:

As always, click to enlarge

Here's what we have left to do: Insert picture in "window" and hang a curtain, draw stove element rings (I'll use a metalic marker), attach oven light, hang up the chalkboard and accessorize. The kitchen is currently at our friend's house and we hope to arrange to have it delivered to our apartment while we are away so that it will be here when we get home. I am so impressed with David's work, it's such a great looking kitchen and I know that our children are going to love it for years to come!

I likely won't be blogging for the rest of the month, but will hopefully have much goodness to share after Christmas. From our family to yours, may you discover the wonder of Christmas anew this year!

Checkin' In

• It's snowing! Big Fat Fluffy Snowflakes! Makes me think of this...

• Have you ever had candy cane white hot chocolate from Second Cup? Well, we found an amazing version at Bulk Barn for a great price and I'm enjoying a cup right now.
• David's Waldo party was a hit! We had a great time.

• Malachi's birthday party went well, too. My friend, Donna, made amazing cupcakes for the occasion.

• The little's play kitchen has had a few setbacks (we needed to move it from one friend's cold garage to another friend's basement). Hopefully, we'll finish next week.
• David's been working crazy hard at work and earned enough money to cover our expenses for two months. His last day is Monday and we're so looking forward to family vacation!! 
• Christmas crafting will be in full swing next week - I have a lot of work to do!
• I have a rehearsal and costume fitting for Bethlehem LIVE! today. 12 days and counting.
• We're going to a murder mystery party tonight... really looking forward to a date night out with my David!!
• My friend, Patty~Jean made a batch of her homemade deodorant for sale and David and I are loving it! I highly recommend it!
• Our family is rocking an iPad2 - a family Christmas/birthday gift/s from my parents. You should hear my Abby ask to play Angry Birds, too funny! 

• Finally in my second trimester! Still feeling tired, but a whole lot less sick. I'm hoping for a smooth flight next month. Last time I flew at 4 months, I was quite sick on the plane.

One Year!

I can hardly believe it's been a whole year since Malachi made his first appearance. What a crazy ride it's been, but I wouldn't trade him in for anything. Malachi, my little man, I love you! (click in to see the whole post)

(as always, click to enlarge)

Checkin' In

Well, it's been a little quiet on this little blog. I don't have a lot of news this week, but let's get to it!

• I'm enjoying one of these right now.
• I am nine weeks into my pregnancy and just now starting to feel somewhat human again. Still tired, but a lot less nauseous. Good news!

(so funny... worth sharing again)

• November 4th and no snow. Can hardly believe it. I'm ready for it (don't hate me for loving God's beauty). It would help me feel more motivated to get to my Christmas projects, not to mention our first snowfall tradition of ordering chinese take-out... yum.

(lights on our tree through special effect glasses-2008)

• I'm in the midst of planning the last minute details for David's birthday. It's going to be great fun and I hope to have some pics to share next week. This year's theme...

• The little's play kitchen still isn't finished. There have been a few minor glitches that have slowed us down a little. David would like a good couple of hours to finish out the last few details, so hopefully soon! I have some details to work on, myself. The reveal is going to be amazing! We're having friends deliver it to our home while we are away in Alberta so that it will be here for the children to find it when we get home. It'll be a great surprise.
• Malachi had to have another Mag3 renal scan this week. It went better, but still hard to bare as a mother. We'll get the results in two weeks.
• So many things to look forward to: 2 days until David's birthday and party, 9 days until the Ladies Ministry Christmas Banquet, 15 days until Malachi's 1st birthday, 18 days until his party and our first midwife appointment, 34 days until Bethlehem LIVE!, 40 days until we leave for Alberta, 51 days until Christmas. 

Coming Soon

In case you're not on facebook or you're not sure what  exactly is "coming soon", a new little Gingras is on the way. Baby's appearance will be around June 4, 2012.

Family Pictures 2011

Twila's done it again! We're thrilled with this year's instalment of the Gingras family pictures. Here's a few of the gems that she captured this time.

a little announcement...

and a little funny outtake for you...

Checkin' In

*sigh* I am tired today, but I have some spare time and thought I'd send a little love out to you all. Let's get to it!

• We did indeed go to the pumpkin cart on the road to Lockport last week and picked up some pumpkins. Abby picked out one for her and one for Malachi and has been carting tiny pumpkins all over the house. She's quite proud of them and would happily go back for the rest of them. True story.

• It's official: Abigail is potty trained! That was a long painful journey, but we all made it. Her rewards included a Papa/daughter movie date and new Strawberry Shortcake panties. Big deal in the Gingras house!

• Yesterday, Malachi turned 11 months old and tomorrow Abigail will be 3 months away from her 3rd birthday. Looooong days, short years!
• David and I had a painting date yesterday and the play kitchen is looking so great. I've decided that I'm not going to show you any more in progress pictures because it will make the reveal that much more exciting. We have another painting date booked for next week and we're almost finished. 

• I'm recovering from the stomach flu and haven't touched my Christmas projects in over a week and a half. I really need to get to them, but I am having a hard time getting into the swing of it again. I can't afford to leave it too long, there are a whole bunch of them.
• I am also in the process of planning two birthday parties for next month. David is turning 35 and Malachi will be 1. Thankfully, Malachi won't remember his birthday and I can keep it super simple. 

• Do you have a Mac? Well, my toddler spent a long time in front of photobooth this morning. She especially loves the mirror effect. I keep forgetting the entertaining features of this and really appreciated how occupied dolly was for awhile.

• I whipped out the winter coat yesterday. It was cold. It is October and I don't really mind.

Checkin' In

Well today feels like fall for I think the first time. There's a cool breeze and it's cloudy and delicious! Don't get me wrong, I'm blessed by the amazingly hot fall (record breaking, actually) just like the next person, but we packed our air conditioners away two weeks ago and we've been frying in here. The sad thing about all this wind is that the trees are almost bare already. Glad we had family pics early in the week. Well, lets get to it!

• I whipped up Malachi's new chair panel - I think it's quite adorable. I used one of David's old shirts again and it worked great!

• Dolly has been running around in skirts, touques and rubber boots again. I love it!

• Christmas projects are well under way here and I hate not sharing, but you'll get to see them all after the holidays. I am having a lot of fun with them all. I have been listening to Christmas music for more than a month already. We have 3.2 days worth of Christmas music or 1334 songs (thanks, Itunes for that useful information)
• We've been enjoying this site. My mom bought a membership and it's been so great having access to Hallmark Hall of Fame movies. Our family favourite so far has to be A Dog Named Christmas.
• Phew! feeling tired today. Confession time: when Malachi had his nap, I turned on a movie for Abby and I napped on the couch. Apparently it's a good time to ask Mama for another one, too. I do feel a lot better, but man, I could sleep for days. Malachi is still not sleeping through the night, though I feel like we might be getting there. Side note: I have to brag on my husband for a minute. Malachi is no longer nursing. I will spare you the details here, but what a pain it is to make a bottle and heat it in the middle of the night! David said to me last week. "Now that Malachi isn't nursing, why don't I get up with him once in the night." Seriously, isn't he great?!?! He takes the first wake up, which is sometime anywhere from 1:30-3:00 am. I am so blessed! I am hoping that baby sleeps through the night before we go to Alberta at Christmas time.
• I miss reading. I think it's because it's fall, but I miss having hours to kill reading. *sigh*
• Abby asked if we could go get pumpkins next week. It's a great idea! We'll go on our weekend to the pumpkin cart on the road to Lockport and maybe drive all the way and get onion rings from the Half Moon Drive-In... yummy.

• Malachi is getting brave and taking a few steps. I took him out to the apartment hallway to practise with Abby's shopping cart. Can't believe how quickly he's grown. He's had his third haircut already, too. (after this picture was taken)

Hoo's Cute?

This little owl, that's who!

I whipped this up, kinda making it up as I went. I did find inspiration on Google images and Etsy, but I drew up a draft on craft paper and cut away. It was quite liberating to just cut and hack away without using a pattern. I love how rustic and rough he looks. I recycled some of David's clothes plus used scraps of fabric in my stash. I love how he turned out! I made it for Malachi, though I'm not sure if he'll get it for his birthday, for our trip to Alberta or for Christmas. Abby keeps calling it a chicken which makes me laugh. I think he needs a name. Any ideas?

Checkin' In

I can hardly believe that September is over... tomorrow is that last day!? What?!? How did that happen? Well, I can tell you that this weather has been amazing and it hasn't even felt much like September. Though the trees are changing and our city is looking beautiful! Let's get right to it this week:

• We voted on Tuesday. Confession: I think this is only the second time I've voted and the last time it was because I had turned 18 and was finally of legal age to vote. I've been remiss, but we are beginning now and will teach our children the importance of it. Talk about convenient, though, we were at the mall and the advance polls were set up. We showed our IDs and voted and were through the process in under 15 minutes (with children in tow). The littles were given these cute certificates that I'll put away in their keepsake boxes.

(I interrupted her movie)

• I needed a Superman t-shirt. They're hard to find (especially if you're cheap like me), so I made one. I used this method again.

• Jen, here's my no shampoo update: tomorrow marks 5 weeks. I am still doing the baking soda/apple cider vinegar about every other day. You're supposed to be able to wait 3-4 days, but my hair hyper produces oil and it's still less than shampooing every day. I also had my haircut last week and wasn't about to skip the wash, it's my favourite part of going for a haircut, so I'm not entirely sure if that meant I was starting over or not. I bought these multi-purpose bottles from the dollar store and they have measurements on them, which make mixing super easy. This is the method I've been using: Baking soda mixture 2Tbsp soda to 8 oz. water. Rub into scalp (don't wet your hair first) and rinse. Apple cider vinegar mixture 2 oz. ACV to 6 oz. water (1-3 ratio) plus 4 drops peppermint essential oil. Rub into scalp and rinse. These squeeze bottles are great, I just put the spout right to the scalp and squeeze away. My hair feels great - I probably won't buy shampoo again.

• David's filled holes and mounted the soon-to-be microwave on the little's kitchen. We're close to prime and paint time. I've picked colours and I'm so excited.

(David got a whole bag of tiles for $2 and they became my springboard for colour)

• I found these ugly canvas prints for $2 each - a great find for a Christmas project I'm working on. That won't hit blog world until after Christmas.

• Remember this? Well, I picked up a blue one for Malachi at Once Upon a Child for $5 (regular price is $10 - I had a coupon) and will be re-panelling his, too. No sponge bob for him.
• We're getting our first family pics since Malachi's arrival. We're tentatively booked for Tuesday. They probably won't hit the blog until after Christmas (sorry, but we want some surprises)

and finally....

• WE'RE GOING "HOME" TO ALBERTA FOR CHRISTMAS! We haven't been for 2 years and my mom is the only one of both of our families who's met Malachi. We're sooooo excited and we get to go for TWO WEEKS! I can hear our mom's crying with joy!

Checkin' In

September is half way through already! I can hardly believe it. The days have only now become cool and I am relishing every moment of it. It was an incredible summer, but I am never sad to see fall's return. The air conditioners come out of the windows and the fall breeze is invited in while I enjoy yummy fall drinks.

Let's get started, here's a few things I wanted to share with you.

• This is our "Ebenezer stone". You can read about the original stone in 1 Samuel 7. We wanted to mark our seventh anniversary with something that could be a reminder for us of God's grace in our marriage. David found this rock and it's perfect.

• our last in-house date night we played Killer Bunnies. We haven't played in quite some time and it was a fun time. I call this Killer Bunnies by candlelight:

(the green tape is our snack barriers - don't want to get those cards gummed up!)

(one of David's favourite bunny weapons)

• I am loving our double stroller, but as with any umbrella stroller it lacks a cup holder, so I made my own. Now I can have my water or tea or latte to go. It works great. Inspired by this post.

• David's made some great progress on the littles' play kitchen. I am so excited to get to the painting and decorating part. I am so impressed with what David's done with that cabinet.

• Thanks to Pinterest, I found this great pumpkin syrup recipe for lattes. YUM! It's easy and and WAY cheaper than Starbucks.

• Our branch got it's fall makeover again and this year we added this lovely little friend for our fall scene.

P.S. I am appreciating this point form blog style. It means that I can blog about a lot of little things without taking a whole bunch of time and boring you with extra words. Any thoughts?