I was a kid in a candy store...

No really I was in a candy store...several actually...where we watched them make candy...I love Disney!

yes these are rice crispie treats...$50USD each.

The Disney Difference

I'm a bad mommy.

I did the unthinkable...I went to Disney in April and I DIDN'T TAKE MY KIDS!!!

I was there for a work conference and the schedule was packed. So in the wee hours of the morning I sneaked (is that even a word) off to catch my flight to Orlando while Oz slept peacefully and Amelia screamed her head off knowing something was up...

Several hours later...

After a little refresh, Linda and I took a walk around our resort, found the store with the gourmet treats and all the Disney things you didn't even know existed, made a plan to get up and be at the outlet mall for opening, turned on Fashion Star and then slept....for 12 hours...apparently I needed it.

Magical cocktail with my Campus Card peeps

Why hello Minnie!

I was very fortunate to take part in two Disney Institute sessions as well as attend a key note given by them. The first was an "Incredible Race" around Epcot to focus on teamwork (that was an interesting session!)

Git 'er done! (Disney teamwork style)

The afternoon was spent taking part in a session called behind the magic. We were taken behind the scenes and shown in detail how Disney treats their cast members (staff) and why they do it that way. I was blown away with the care and attention Disney takes to involve their cast in the Disney experience and making them truly engaged in each guests experience.

No pictures are allowed backstage but I can tell you that behind the scenes is fascinating ..we saw wardrobe, cast lounges, transportation and were in the "tunnels". If you follow me on Twitter you have scene the crazy tidbits that I learned.

At the end of the day (figuratively speaking) I wanted to go work at Disney. I was amazed and I earned two Disney critters for giving our awesome leader Mark the right answers to his questions. (The Disney mandate permeates each and every corner of the earth- that earned me a Daisy Duck)

I love Disney...

Big Girl Bed

Our little lady decided that she no longer wanted to sleep in her crib. After almost two years of going to sleep semi peacefully in her crib at night, she started crying and just saying "bed" over and over.

We hit Kijiji and found this great bed...but it was ugly...like knotty pine ugly. We picked up some primer and paint and transformed it into a bed fit for a princess. Her quilt is currently in strips on my ironing board but I'm working on a tutorial for that so give me another month or so and it will be done.

Very excited, had to tuck her babies in the bed first

Wordless Wednesday

Enjoying the sun at the East Coast Momma Collective Spring Fair

Thumbs up!

 

Enjoying a Blueberry  Cupcake 

Teaching his sister thumbs up

Some of our ECMC goodies!
Sign: From the Heart Creations
Chaulk: HomeGrown Goods
Coffee cup sleeve: Blue Frog Creations

We can't continue to fail our children

The news this past week has horrified me. 

The rape and physiological torture of an HRM teenager shocked me. I couldn't believe that something so cruel could happen in our community.  What bothers me the most is that the individuals who took advantage of of Rehtaeh Parsons are walking around free as could be and that she was failed at every turn.

How in this day and age is it even remotely possible that teenage boys think that raping a girl, taking pictures and sending those pictures around to their peers is just a prank. That it's cool to do that and then bully and persecute the girl that they violated?

When the picture arrived in an individuals message box either on their cell or social media or wherever,  why did that person not have the guts to say "this is not alright." And stand up for Rehtaeh? What upbringing and social norm leads that person to continue to circulate the picture and then bully her, making her life so miserable that she had to change schools? Why is standing up for the victim isn't the first step?

The fact of the matter is that we are failing our children. What is it in our society and in the way our children are being raised that allows this to happen? Who are we allowing to be the main influence in our their lives? How much time are we spending with our children teaching them right from wrong? Why is a random act of kindness a "movement" and not the standard? What happened to family dinners, spending more time doing things with our kids and less time letting them spend time with technology as their main connection and entertainment?

I am not saying that daily family dinners and keeping one parent home at all times are the answers. Fact is they help. I have no choice in the latter...I have to work and I know so many others who are in the same position. Prices are higher so two incomes are often a necessity...but where is the time spent connecting with your kids offline?  If you teach your kids from the get go that "a person's a person no matter how small" will it lead to a better society? (Dr. Seuss had so many things right) 

You can do everything right and still our children will make mistakes, but this'd whole situation is such an uncontrolled series of mistakes and poor decisions that it is near unforgivable. The school has a duty to protect the victim not the bully, the police have a duty to protect the victim not the bullies, our COMMUNITY can do better.

It saddens me that this girl who could have had a limitless future has had her flame burnt out too early. She was bullied to death. Someone needs to stop protecting the minors who are committing adult crimes and shift the focus from their rights to the victim's rights. Frankly, screw them...look what they have done to this girl. They committed a crime and got away with it, and probably knew they would from the get go. If they are doing this at 15 what are they going to be doing at 17 or 20?

I have a daughter and a son and i would go to the end of the earth to protect them. It is my and my husbands job to ensure that they treat others how they want to be treated, to get them talking to us and to spend time helping them become good people.

We need to change what is the norm. Acts of kindness, respect and community should be the norm. Maybe it does start with family dinners, community volunteering and bedtime chats with our kids - but it sure in hell results in a kid who immediately tells their parents and goes to the police when they get a picture of a girl being raped.

ECMA award in the house!

My Sister in law RyLee, has been a part of the Canadian music scene for over 10 years and this year she was recognized for her hard work. RyLee won the East Coast Music Awards Country Recording of the Year!

trying to take the littles back to Nashville

We're so proud of you RyLee!!!

A visit good for the soul

It has been far too long since I've seen my dear friend Laura and her family. They live out west and were finally able to come home for a visit. I was a little over excited because I was finally going to get my hands on their newest addition Noah.

Noah is a very special guy. He has already proven that he has a strong spirit and his mother's stubbornness! The minute I held him, my heart felt a little more complete. His big brother Elijah is just as sweet as ever. He came running up to me, giving big hugs telling me he has missed me his whole life (serious heart melt!!)

Look who else loves Noah

The kids had a great time playing together.

Not really sure what is happening here...

and then came the crash before the second wind

oh look who likes hockey too...

Our visit was over in the blink of an eye and I will totally admit that I cried my eyes out as I drove away from dropping Laura and her family off at the airport hotel. Being separated by a country sucks. Especially when we see how well our kids get along. It sucks but its life. And one thing Laura has taught me this year more than ever is that while you have no control over the challenges that are going to come your way, you totally control how you face them.

Love you George!

St. Patrick's Day Fun

Ahh St. Patrick's Day....this year we went without the Leprechaun peeing green in our toilet, little green footprints and the lucky charms, focusing on rainbows instead.

St. Patrick's Day Breakfast of champions

 Weekday mornings are a blur, so on the weekends we take our time....and we usually serve up buttermilk pancakes for breakfast. I divided and coloured the batter and then made the pancakes with just 1 tbsp each of batter on the grill.

batter coloured with Wilton food gel

Daddy's stack

 I was hesitant to give the kids this much food colouring but for one day I don't think it's the end of the world...plus I paired them up with rainbow fruit skewers!

How could you not Kiss these Irish cheeks!

remember this shirt?..next year it will be a skirt

I can't believe how big my littles are getting. I just had to pull up some comparisons. Where is the time going?

Last year...look at that hair...

Last year...my little Elton

Wordless Wednesday

Hamin' it up with the ECMA

Snack Time! (for mommies)

Weight Watchers is good. If I can find things to eat that are low in points and that satisfy the sweet tooth, then I'll be golden...let's face it..I didn't gain weight because I eat too many veggies (bloody Superstore fresh donuts...) So I have turned to my favorite resource Pinterest and here is what I came up with

"Brownie" bites & Peanut Butter Oatmeal "Cookies"

Raw "Brownie" Bites: (adapted from Triumph Wellness)
(16 balls- 2 WWPP each)

• 1 1/4 cups walnuts
• 13-14 large dates, pitted
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 

1. Place walnuts in a food processor.
2. Process until finely ground.
3. Add remaining ingredients and process until all mixed and uniformly crumbly.
4. With the machine running, add a few drops of water at a time, just until the mass starts to stick together in a big ball. (Better to add too little that too much!)
5. Roll mixture into balls
6. ENJOY!

Raw Peanut Butter Oatmeal "Cookies"
18 balls (1 WWPP each)

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 13-14 large pitted dates
• 2 Tbsp peanut butter 
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

1. Put oats in food processor.
2. Process until finely ground.
3. Add remaining ingredients and process until fully combined.
4. Add a few drops of water if needed to form balls.
5. Form into balls 

These were delicious and the kids ate them up! I'm loving the health benefits that making more "raw" food in our diets has for everyone. I haven't crossed the whole way to raw but I am heading back to my way more neurotic about what we eat, most especially what the kids eat. I'll never reach goal if I don't start paying more attention and planning snacks...and to my horror I discovered that my favorite Second Cup baked good has 17 WWPP per item.....no more chocolate covered oatcakes for me!

just a random adorable picture to make you smile!

Wordless Wednesday

Love those little lips!

Wordless Wednesday

We be chillin'....

Date Night

Last Friday, G and I went on a date...with our little man. It was so nice to spend a little one on one time with our guy. We hadn't told him where we were going until we were on our way. He was so excited. BUT he thought we were going to see the Bruins...

A: Mom I can only cheer for the Boston Bruins!
Me: But what if the Bruins aren't playing?
A: Who's playing?
Me: The Moosheads!
A: Weeellll...I guess I can cheer for them. GO MOOSEHEADS GO!

found our seats!

Here comes the Mooseheads!

Our seats were in the second row from the ice. The puck had just dropped when a group of teenage hockey players sat in the row in front of us. Ozzy said he couldn't see, he could of course but he just didn't have a perfectly unobstructed view of the Goalie. They over heard him and switched up their seats so the shortest guy sat in front of my boy! I was so impressed! 

6ft Sub!!! Thanks to the Fans of the game for sharing

Well the game was full of action, and the Mooseheads played great! The 50/50 winner took home $11,364...sadly it wasn't me, but it does give me another reason to want to go to the next game. The Sea Dogs scored with 9 seconds left in the game....but they still had their asses handed to them.

Austin loved every minute. We are going to make sure we take him to another game in the next couple of weeks.  I loved having that 100% time to focus on him, and he loved it too.

A Boy's Special Space

About a year and a half ago, G and I had the kids' bedrooms renovated to make better use of the space. We moved a wall and changed the closets. I had posted about Amelia's room but Austin's still wasn't finished. It's been done for a while now so it's about time I shared it!

The wall decals are from SuperStore. They had coordinating totes and I kicked myself for not getting them, because now they don't have them anymore. The decals are really what inspired the room. Simple and classic, they'll grow with him for a few years and can easily be removed if the little man suddenly decides he dislikes them.

I'll never forget the day I got him Buzz and Woody... he saw them at the Disney store  and held them each by the hand and that was it! They are still favorites and tend to go with him whenever he can bring a stuffy.

Four has been a bit of a challenging year, but we've found that Ozzy responds so much better to a visual goal so Santa brought him his very cool chore chart. He earns happy faces each day and then get a reward at the end of the week. Ozzy's buddy Graham gave him the car map for his birthday and it works as the perfect floor mat.

We've been working hard at decluttering and organizing our house and the kids' rooms have been the easiest to up keep. I've stuck to the something in - something out rule and (surprise, surprise) it has kept the clutter down. Austin can usually find what he us looking for, has room to play and it doesn't take forever to clean it up. (always the biggest bonus for this mama!)

Oh the Hotwheels track....he loves it!

Bedding: 

Vitaminer Bil from Ikea (Thanks Little One for hunting this down and sending it to us!)

Curtains are plain navy from Walmart. I might change these up but for now they work.

Decor:

Rooms Come True (truck wall hooks)

Transportation decals (Joe Fresh Home)

Kudos Signs and Gifts (Boy wall decal)

Paint:

Caribbean Coast 550D-4 (upper wall) and Moon Rise (lower wall, trim and ceiling) both by Behr

Our room is the last of upstairs to post...but it isn't quite where I want it yet. Almost just a few finishing touches and then I can get started on a refreshing the main floor!

Happy Valentine's Day

Love the Boutilier Family

The global craft market

I've been a little busy.

I am so excited to announce that Grasshopper Kids Creations featuring A2 Designs is on ETSY!



GrasshopperKids on Etsy

 We officially opened our store this week and have linked it to the Grasshopper Kids Creations Facebook page. Take a moment to check it out. We'd love to hear your feedback.

I'm an Etsy junkie. I always find cool gift ideas and I have yet to purchase something and not be happy with it once it arrived at my door (or the gift receiver's door). I love the idea of supporting crafters and finding things that are different and (for the most part) not mass produced. So it was almost a no brainer to list our creations there. It has taken a bit of time to post listings, create our shop policies and make sure that we're in compliance of everything. (And I certainly hope we are because frankly it would be a real bummer to have the Internet police after me).

I've added a few new items to the shop including these adorable booties:

And this sweet top:

My model was a little under the weather but she tried to cooperate. She is seriously cute nonetheless and I think this top is going to look adorable in the spring fabrics that just arrived from Hawthorne Threads (click me for a sneak peek!)

Shelley and I will keep adding to the shop and we hope that you'll stop by, take a look and maybe share the word that we've jumped head first into the global craft market.