Family Pics

We finally got some good family pictures over the weekend. Well... "good" is a pretty loose term when trying to photograph your own family, consisting of two children under the age of 2 and a large puppy. I think the photo above will be our Christmas letter photo, however I really like the colours in the one below and the "chaos" of it is kinda fun - and accurate:) The kids did pretty well considering they hadn't napped yet that afternoon! By the end however, we were saying things like, "Atalie!! Look at Daddy!!!!!" in frusteration, and then, "ok smile sweetie!" with big flakey grins. Can you believe I had so many opportunities to be INFRONT of the camera with my kids??? It was a nice change!

Our Home

I guess I haven't posted a picture of our house since the siding was done in spring. Well, here it is. Doesn't look a whole lot different, except for a few trees and some grass here and there:)

Cleanses and Detoxes

A little note regarding the irritating run-on paragraph: I CAN'T FIX IT AND IT'S DRIVING ME CRAZY!!!!! So appologies for the confusion while reading. Ok I know this is a little strange (and gross) to read on my blog considering it's almost always kid pictures and short stories on our family. However I thought I'd share some research I've been doing and some thoughts I've been processing, incase anybody out there has some of their own thoughts/research facts they'd like to add! Please beware that it is all about gross things in our bodies which are, well, "extracted". Happy reading;) A friend came over for dinner a couple nights ago and we got talking about cleanses/detoxes/fasts. She has tried a few and has had great results. I've been wanting to do a type of fast which focuses more on the physical aspect of health... of course, one should (in my opinion) consider that fasting time to reflect on other areas of life which can also be improved, which encourages me even more to give this "detox" type of fast a try. Anyway - I've done a little research and have come across a few types. One article I read is from "Alternative Health Magazine" and gives a rundown of Colon Cleanse Product Reviews. The article stated, "Based on our personal experiences, and supported by most detox experts, a one or two-week program is simply not sufficient, considering the fact that it took years or decades to accumulate all the toxins in the colon and in other parts of the body. A more realistic approach takes at least 30 days and up to 6 months, or even longer, depending on the level of toxicity in one’s body." The product most recommended was called "Colonix". Now, orginally I wasn't sure I want to begin with a 30 day cleanser however if anything with a smaller time frame doesn't do it - what's the point? Then I read this, "“Any cleansing program should begin by ‘pulling the plug’ that blocks the passage of waste. The ‘plug’ is in your colon, the last portion of your food-processing chain. If you try to clean your blood, lymph, or liver without first addressing a stopped-up large intestine, the excreted toxins will get right back into your body and make you sicker than you were before you started.” [Dr. L. Berry: Internal Cleansing] The concept of cleansing the colon as the most important first step of a detoxification therapy is unfortunately missed by many detox programs sold on the market today. Without cleansing the colon, it is impossible to effectively and thoroughly detoxify the body." A couple more facts I've been reading: "Autopsies often reveal colons that are plugged up to 80 percent with waste material." (The Vegetarian Times - March, 1998) Toxic build-up can cause stomach pain, constipation, fatigue, gas, bloating, headaches, indigestion, weight gain, lack of sleep, irritation and restlessness. All the toxins and 'dead' processed foods lead to poor digestion causing a toxic build-up in the body, including the colon. This toxic waste material in the colon then frequently turns into - in the words of National Geographic - "a sinister world of monstrous creatures that feed on living flesh: parasites". If you want to see a really gross picture of colon build-up (one of hundreds on this website) click here. If you have a weak stomach and would rather ignore what may be building up in your body, remind yourself that ignorance is bliss and don't bother. So that's the most extreme (or rather, efective) cleanse I've considered so far. It costs between $55-$88 (for 30 days worth) if you buy directly from the website. The second one is the Master Cleanser. Basically you drink a lemonade concoction, a ton of water and you "flush" your system by either chugging a huge amount of saltwater twice a day or take a laxitive (b/c bowel movements aren't naturally present w/o fibre intake). The lemonade consists of: 14 tablespoons Organic Grade B Maple Syrup (or 2 tbsp. per glass), 14 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (or 2 tbsp. per glass), and 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (or 1/10 tsp. per glass) or as much as you can handle. The one thing I'm hesitant about with this is that I've read that "flushing" your system with so much fluid can be harmful to your digestive track, more specifically to your colon and bowels. Also, this cleanse can be purchased as a package or you can find the ingredients yourself and create a similar home-remedy. The third cleanse I'm considering is the Wild Rose Cleanse. The website intro says, "Internal cleansing is considered to be the cornerstone of good health by many natural health care practitioners. Pollutants from the environment - found in the air, water and foods that we eat - as well as wastes produced from normal bodily processes, can tend to accumulate within the body and lead to a state of congestion. To help maintain a healthy balance of assimilation and elimination, the Wild Rose Herbal D-Tox Program is uniquely designed to enhance all aspects of metabolism. Wild Rose Biliherb formula gently promotes bile production by the liver, supporting digestion and enhancing the elimination of toxins. Laxaherb, Cleansaherb and CL Herbal Extract additionally support the cleansing and elimination of wastes from the system." I haven't researched the wild rose beyond this but I know it's basically a formula you can take either in pill form or syrup form. It only costs $33 dollars online (7 day supply). Ok that's all. Kevin just commented, "Why are you writing this all on the blog? It's disgusting!!!" Well, what can I say? It's a disgusting fact of life that perhaps I, and others, need to take a closer look at in order to lead a healthier life. Please feel free to comment, as that is the purpose of this post. Sorry for grossing anybody out:)

Family Update

Well the fall is approaching - wait a minute - it's actually here!! That was fast! I don't think my summer months have ever flown by like this one just did. WOW were we busy. Babysitting, baking, markets for me; 10hr work days for Kev (12 once you include driving and lunch breaks). That's okay with me though. I'm greatful for the opportunity to catch up financially and prepare for a relaxing autumn. Kevin is currently in school writing his first exam! He started Carpentery Apprenticeship Year 2 on Monday, and no you have not missed any posts about Year 1 b/c he didn't actually do it. The waiting list is so long for Year 1 that the school is letting trades people go ahead with Year 2 until there is availability. Besides that, he has enough hours required to have his Carpentry ticket, he just needs the schooling - meaning, year one shouldn't be difficult to challenge considering it's very basic. That should save time and money on our part:) He's actually registered for all his schooling and will likely have it completed within two years. That means we have a raise to look forward to:) The kids are growing up SO fast. Aiden turned 1 year old just 3 weeks ago and is trying to sound out words/phrases like, "Thank you" (aaah-ooo) and "There you go" (are-yoo-oh) when he hands me a toy; "Hello" (eh-yo) and "Hi" (i) with a big full-arm wave to go with it:) Atalie comes up with the most rediculous things and copies A LOT of what we say. As I was reading her a story from her childrens Bible she would continually point to people and animals saying, "That's God." I'd say, "No honey, that' Ruth" or "Nope, that's a donkey". She insists on ordering her brother around and gets very upset when he (or anyone) tries to take her snack or juice. Aiden, however, is learning how to stand up for himself very quickly!! Just yesterday he flapped his arms in Atalie's face and made a very loud protest after she told him to "stay away from my house Aiden - that's Atalie's!!!" (lego house, that is)... and last weekend he decided he had had enough of being pushed around by Atalie's friend (a 3 year old boy) and pushed him back without even losing his balance. I admit we're quite relieved by his assertive behavior. Atalie wouldn't have even dreamed of pushing anybody and was taken advantage of many times when playing with other kids (now she's bigger than most kids her age so it's not really an issue). Aiden has never showed agression or done anything to hurt anybody either. On the whole he seems quite softhearted but still knows where to draw the line. He's also extremely joyfull, about 99% of the time. I hope he keeps that! As for Koda, our big, loveable, furry friend... well, she' still the same diggingest dog. I don't have the umph to try and fix her problems and Kevin agreed to take care of her for the most part, so I guess we'll have to wait and see what he comes up with:) I do feel badly for her now that winter is coming up b/c I don't forsee us going out for walks much and she may get a little attention starved. And she's NOT coming inside! She's part husky and Kevin is in the midst of building her a nice warm dog house complete with insulated walls, so she'll be just fine... besides, she has been in the basement a couple of times already and she's way too hyper to listen anyways. "Big" and "Hyper" are not coming in. Well that's about it. I hadn't written an update in awhile so I figured now was the time. I've got to go make lunch. I haven't even had breakfast. I'm much too addicted to playing with my pictures on the computer. That, and blogger and facebook.

The Lumberjacks strke again... in the rain!

Kev got a chainsaw. Needless to say he is very excited and there will be pics of that to come. Anyhow he was aching to try it out so Friday afternoon we took the kids (and left them in the truck with a movie, far away from the falling tree) and headed into the bush to find the perfect tree... which, I found! A nice big fir... next time I'm gonna find a smaller one b/c it wasn't so "nice" carrying out - even in segments. Anyway it was alot of fun!! The pics here are of Sunday afternoon when Kevin and my Dad (parents came for a couple nights on their way to see Tyler in Vancouver) had just cut down another 4 larch. It was pouring outside! They were completely drenched and very cold! We bit the bullet and purchased a little something we will need in order to burn all this wood this winter... a gate to keep the kids away from the fireplace. This thing is ingenious!!! It is European designed, go figure. You can buy attatchments and angle it any which way you want to. We purchased it at Cranbrook Fireplace and apparently KidCo has tons of other creative kids-safe ideas. Check them out if you have kids!! This may be the best investment of our whole house! Too bad we didn't have it in spring when Aiden first burnt his little hand. Poor guy! Grandpa plays with Aiden:) Grandma plays with Aiden too:) Aiden plays by himself (which is is more than content to do most of the time).

Laminate for sale

Does anybody need 143 square feet of "walnut" laminate flooring? We paid $303.16 but are trying to sell it for $250. If you know of anyone who needs it tell them to email me (or comment on this post): israelson@shaw.ca

 

Aiden...

Here's our son: the cutest, goofiest boy to walk the planet! He left a little surprise for me in the downstairs toilet (his blue sippy cup). Thanks pal. I've yet to take it out (as of yesterday), kinda dreading it. At least it's just water and toilet paper ~ rather harmless.

Guilty pleasures.

So over time I've discovered a few people (friends, family, mere aquaintences - some of whom we coincidentally haven't seen or spoken to in awhile) who follow our blog, who I had not been aware of until recently! This is great!!! However when talking to almost all of them they sounded a bit sheepish, maybe a little embarassed that they had been following it b/c they hadn't been officially "invited to look"... as though they were Peeping-Toms or stockers or snoops. This is rediculous! So I want to write all of you who check our blog to say that you are none of the above labels. You are always welcome (unless of course you actually are a stocker)!! Anyhow if we didn't want my friends and family to read view our blog we wouldn't make it public. I'd... I dunno.. try to hide it somehow... probably very unsuccessfully too:) So PLEASE join in and feel free to comment whenever you want (you know, the little "comment" icon below each post). I like to know I'm somehow still keeping in touch with everybody. The more, the merrier:)

New Colours & Fonts

Soooooo I'm not sure what I think of the mint green. However I wanted to try something new, something I haven't done before. It gets tricky when you've done almost every colour in the spectrum (aside from yellow and purple - I don't know if I'll ever get there either). I thought the brown would make it feel more "modern" and less "hospital". Kinda mint chocolate chipy isn't it? Yumm. Anyway, aside from that I'm wondering if anyone knows how to take pictures that you've edited on a web editor (such as Picasa) and save the finished product back in your computer documents. ??? I can't figure it out. It's also difficult to upload the pictures onto blogger directly from Picasa unless you want the first four pictures only; or unless you post one picture at a time, each as their own post. Hiyiyi.

Backyard happenings

This first pic was taken Sunday afternoon during a late lunch when the kids were absolutely wired. Not that I need to mention it, but the noise level was excedingly high and Kevin decided he couldn't take it anymore. But that's Kev... ;)

 

 

 

Another one of Koda's extreme holes. At least this one is in the sandbox! Our backyard is a serious tripping hazzard for anyone but especially Aiden. He is constantly falling into the traps Koda has set out for us. I guess he thought this one was kind of fun to explore however:)

 

 

 

 

Charlotte here, has decided to take up residence in our front entry. She is humongous! At least an inch wide... but she can stay providing she sticks to her job of catching unwanted bugs and doesn't take a vacation in our house!

 

Out with the old (sniff sniff) and in with the new!

Bittersweet is what this is. I realize there are bigger issues that one could blog about;) but it's a small detail of the day. The delivery guys stopped in today... after unhinging the inside back door and much manouvering, they switched our sofas. Above, the "Old" Sofa ("Zennah" from The Brick) - a sweet deal from boxing week sales got us this dark brown leather sectional, which I was (still am) in love with! However, the leather began to crack in the center cushion and we found a better deal on two sofas and a 42" Plasma instead. Really, if I'm honest I'd have to say that this one was just a smidge large. But also, I didn't care. :) The livingroom now (with the sofa which used to be in the basement - we've had it for sometime) New Sofas - black sofa & loveseat ("Jaguar" from The Brick)

Weekend Events!

Well, there were a few things that happened at our house over the weekend. 1. Kevin got a few "house" projects started - and completed!! 2. Aiden had his 1st Birthday Party with a few friends. 3. We had sunshine and hot weather!!!! Saturday morning began with a little sleeping in and pancakes (as seems tradition, thanks to Kevin and his undying love for pancakes). Then Kev somehow was very motivated to cut down some countertop we had set aside for a couple desks. There is alot more to cutting through a countertop than I had known... Koda. She never ceases to dig. And when she digs, she DIGS. I'm surprised she hasn't hit water yet! Her holes are a serious tripping hazzard. We've decided just to wait until next spring before dealing with this situation too much b/c each time we replace the dirt she just loves to dig again in the new, soft dirt... plus maybe she'll be less into her puppy ways by then. ? Here's hoping... currently we have a sheet of wood overtop the biggest holes. Good cripes! Aiden is standing much too close to the tv here. I thought it was funny how small it made him look (and how big it made the tv look!). We had to return our beloved leather sectional b/c of manufacturers defects in one of the cushions. The leather is very dry and cracking alot. So we got store credit and decided to take a look around, considering The Brick had a huge tent sale on. We discovered a leather sofa, loveseat and 42" TV all for the same price (ok almost) as we had purchased our sectional for! SOLD! We make the sofa trade on the 11th. Aiden's Birthday Party. We went swimming at Fairmont Hot Springs and then came back for some shishkabobs (ok I admit defeat on the spelling of that word - my blog editor even said, "no suggestions") and cake. Unfortunately, we borrowed a friends bbq for the day and turns out it doesn't cook evenly. The steak turned out amazingly (done on our small camping bbq) but the veggies all burned to an unrecognizeable crisp... well, the foiled potatos were still ok:) I made a fondant for the first time. It was quite simple to make and I felt I had the perfect texture, until I made the mistake of rolling it out on my wood countertop. BAD idea!! It stuck like crazy and the more I worked with it the stickier it got and the more it stuck. haha. Anyway I ended up sprinkling confectioners sugar ontop to hide a few mishaps;) Hehe. I also cut out the #1 you see above, however you can't tell from this pic and it was a little crooked. It was however, a cute cake in person;) Atalie even got a present so she wouldn't feel left out (thanks Mike & Olivia!!)