Weekend Warrior

What?!?! It's Christmas already?? I don't friggin' think so. I'm not ready yet. Not even close. 

This past weekend my family stepped into "The Labrynth" of Chinook mall and barely escaped with our lives; I mean money. Crowds like I've never seen. Temperatures above 25C. I felt like I was under David Bowie's "Magic Spell". Trapped forever. Too dramatic? Only a little.

Being that I just tore the only pair of jeans I own, I was forced to go shopping. I'm not one who enjoys lining up to try clothes on. I usually just grab a size and go; but with the crowds of Christmas I didn't want to risk a return trip. 

Have you ever shared a change room with three children? Its a blast! One has the cellphone in hand, the other is whining because he doesn't, and my youngest is trying to open the door while my pants are half-on. I bet I dropped 5 pounds in the change room that day; pure stress. Kids are great for weight loss!

Maybe I should start shopping online.

J.K.

DIY Lego Table

With Christmas just around the corner and my children getting older, I really wanted to give them each something really special. My youngest son Logan absolutely loves Lego. It's just about the only thing that keeps his little overactive body still. I decided to search the web for Lego gift ideas and stumbled over a lot of DIY Lego tables; so I decided to build my own version.



Materials

Glue (something that will bond plastic to glue)

4 blue Lego base plates (size 620)

6 BYGEL containers IKEA

2 BYGEL rails IKEA

8 screws sized accordingly

1 LACK side table IKEA

*A drink. I chose beer. Yummy.

Instructions
Step One: Build the LACK table as instructed.
You could also choose to put the legs on last;

whichever makes it easier.

Two: Hold one of the BYGEL rails up

to the outer edge of the table and mark

your drilling holes. (I would normally

recommend using a level but the rail fits

perfectly in line with the table. Go me!

Three: Drill baby, drill!

Four: Measure out where each of the four base plates will be glued on tabletop.

Make sure to attach the Lego base plates in the centre with

Lego pieces. This will ensure full functionality of the table.

Five: Spread glue onto bottom of each base plate.

Caution, if you use too much glue and end up filling

the tiny holes as well, it will leak out the edge of mats

once flipped onto table.

Six: Start placing you base plates onto tabletop.

Once they are all placed right side up,

once again, attach mats in the centre with Lego pieces

Seven: Once glue has dried

(preferably overnight)attach your BYGEL container,

fill with Lego, and let the fun begin!!

 *sit back, relax, drink, and revel in all your DIY glory*

J.K.

Big Girl Bed

Last night was one of my many spur of the moment, "brilliant" ideas; perhaps brought on by lack of sleep.

Madison had decided she no longer liked her crib, but would prefer her brother's bed instead. In case you're unsure... when a baby wants something....SHE WANTS IT NOW!

"Just change her crib to a day bed" I said to myself.
I'd been trying to ignore the crying for "Mommy" for about 20 minutes now. Sadly my glass of wine was empty, and as it did not seem Madison was any closer to falling asleep, I caved. Ignoring the fact that it was 830pm and everyone was brushed, washed, and tucked in bed...I got to work; flipping the crib (sans baby), unscrewing screws, and removing one of the sides. Before I could finish, my fiancé (Matthew) came home and caught me in the act. When he left only 45 minutes earlier, Lukas and Logan were in bed ready to fall asleep; now all three kids were running around upstairs . (uh oh) Matthew, both knowing and accepting my tendency to be impulsive, jumped in to help. We had Madi back into her big girl bed in no time!

About an hour after everyone was asleep I could hear Logan calling my name.
"Mommy, come here"
"Mommy, quick"
Matthew takes the lead this time and goes to investigate. Two minutes later he returns with Madison in hand. The closer she comes, the wider my eyes open.
"Guess what?" Matthew chimes "Somebody was being bad"

 

 ....OMG!!!!!

To my amazement her entire face was covered with Vaseline. Huge chunks of it hanging from her cheeks and nose. Her hair was a complete disaster!! The condition of her bed...OH BOY!! But with a giant smile on her face, she reached for a hug and happily agreed to a late night bath. (I guess she wins this round)

J.K.

Haircut Hell

One of the challenges my large family faces, is surviving a trip to visit my hairstylist for our monthly haircuts. On my own, with three kids in tow, we walk through the door, check-in at the front desk, and my stress level starts rising. I can see the look of horror on the receptionists face as we all parade to the seating area. “Oh god why would she bring CHILDREN here? CHILDREN!!” she’s thinking. Kids aren’t a contagious disease, they’re just annoying.

Once everyone found a seat, I turned my attention to resolving the shouting match between my sons (Lukas + Logan) about who gets to be first. As Logan makes his way to the hairdresser’s station, Madison squeals, jumps from my lap, and makes a b-line for the three wick candle burning on the table. With a quick “Don’t touch! Hot!” I scoop her up and head over towards Logan to see what he’s decided to do with his hair. If anyone has had the pleasure of dealing with children’s haircuts, you know exactly how this next part goes:

“No you can't have blue hair”

"Logan put that down and look in the mirror"

"Keep your head still”

"No I didn’t bring any snacks”

“If you stopped moving it wouldn’t take as long”

…All while bouncing a baby on my hip and keeping a watchful eye on Lukas who’s playing with my phone. He could be buying a trampoline from Spain as far as I know. (Yes I let my children play games on my phone when necessary. It keeps them from invading my personal space and making things awkward.)

With Logan’s hair done, Lukas hands off my cellphone and makes his way over to the chair. He is the type of six year old that knows what he wants. “A mowhawk” he chants “And spike it up!”

By this time Madison starts to get antsy; throwing herself from side to side, shouting “down", and then finally crying. I slowly sneak up to Logan and try to sweet talk him into letting Madison watch Elmo on my phone.

“No! Lukas got it longer than I did!” he whines, attracting unnecessary attention. Time to put on the sweet mom face and negotiate with my egocentric 5 year old.

"What If you can use my phone more when we get home?”

“NOOOOOO! I want it now!”

"I know you do sweetheart, but Madison REALLY would like a turn and you can use it as soon as we get home”

“But it’s my turn!!”

"How about we watch you play your game?”

“No! I don’t want you to watch!”

Shit. This isn’t working. Apparently my five year old boy doesn’t understand that his baby sister is going to explode if she doesn’t watch Elmo in the next 10 seconds. I decide to sit Madison on my lap and distract her with hairstyle magazines. Just as she settles she notices a little boy at the receptionists desk with his mother…hey wait a minute! He has a sucker!! …Damn... Off she goes again in search of her own sucker; when I say “In search of”, I mean walked right up to him, pointed in his face, and shouted “SUCKER”. My little detective.

When everyone was finished and looking great, my little detective made her way behind the front desk and gladly handed out a sucker to each of her brothers…and took two for herself.

J.K.

BOW HAT

 

My mother has been suggesting that I crochet my daughter (Madison) a hat. Well with the winter slowly setting in I happily obliged.

Credit Goes To
Hat- http://lakeviewcottagekids.blogspot.com
Bow- http://stitch11.com/botique-bow/

DIY CLOSET

In September of 2013 I moved into a great little three bedroom townhouse. I decided to overlook the lack of closet space throughout my new home, as it was the ONLY HOME available. But at some point, an individual may have the desire to hang their jacket, instead of throwing it atop the heap of coats already there. (Definitely not anyone living in my house) So I gathered the essentials to help fix my little problem.

Essentials
1 Screwdriver
1 level
Tape measure
1 PORTIS shoe rack (IKEA 19.99)
1 PORTIS hat rack (IKEA 19.99)

How To Tips
When mounting the hat rack on the wall, try hanging a jacket on one of the hooks to make sure you have enough clearance for a pair of boots to sit on the top shelf of the boot rack. (Don't add more stress to an already stressful situation by having a muddy jacket).

TA-DA!

I am really happy with the result. Adding the baskets to the top of the rack helped to contain all the little accessories that tag along with the changing seasons.