Well she aint pretty... that's for sure!

Be more specific. That is the lesson learned here! I guess when I mentioned to Kevin (numerous times) that I really wanted shelving in the utility/laundry room and that having 5 people stay for night this coming weekend means that we need to clean up all the storage/garbage laying around the basement, I should have been more specific. He came home less than 24 hours later with the ugliest turquiose and purple cabinets I've ever seen in my whole life. HAHA!! He happened to be pulling them out of a reno that day and said it was either our house or the dump. ...what does that mean, exactly?? No matter - I told him to "hang them!" We had a good laugh at the extremity of ugliness now present in our new little home, and then stuffed them full of things:) Actually, it was much more organized then "stuffing of things" but it took us all evening yesterday and I'm so greatful to finally have things in order. We even got the other (of two) spare bedroom cleaned out and will be setting up the bed tonight. WooHoo!!! Before: After: One last update (as of Tuesday)... a little paint job and some new (cheap!) pulls. I managed to pull this one off in the morning while the kids were watching a movie - sweet:)

Anniversary Dinner...kids and all;)

I had just convinced Kevin that we didn't need to go to all the effort to find a babysitter (and risk them never coming back b/c our kids seem to be in an eternal state of grumpiness these days) and had decided on a yummy Mexican meal I was going to make instead, when I decided that infact, I didn't really want to cook on our Anniversary! We don't go out to eat much, so this was the time. Kids or no kids, we were going out to eat!! We headed to our favorite restaurant - Tony's Greek Grill in Fairmont. This place totally rocks! If you EVER pass through the East Kootenays, you MUST stop here!! Not cheap, I'll warn you of that - but the best pita you'll ever have! They also have a juice bar and icecream/yogurt stand. I wanted to take a picture of it to post with this but I didn't get around to remembering as we were driving away... oh well. Here's a few others: Who doesn't love having their picture taking while eating? ya.... well I took one anyway. The restaurant is the building to the left (that you can't really see). You place your order there, pick a table outside and then pick up your order at the window when they call your name - - perfect for eating with kids:) I ordered the lamb skewer plate, which came with a greek salad, pita wedges, tzatziki sauce and humous. Mmmmmm!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The kids enduldged in good old chicken fingers and fries, but mostly ketchup. Rainbow Sherbet. Does it get any better Aiden?? I think he got a brain freeze right after that bite. He said, "aw du" (all done) and put his hand to his head with a frown... hahaha:)

6 Years Strong Today.

Too cute not to post!

After much posting, here's one just because.

Another Project Down...

If I remember correctly, our 1st "To Do" this season was to fix the ground level (fill holes mainly) around our yard and seed some more grass. That's sort of done, we're just waiting for the dog to stop stirring up the grass seed so we can see it grow (may have to add another project which involves building a dog run in order to finalize that first project!). We've completed project #2 today, which was finishing the shed! Two weekends ago we began Phase One, which was organizing the inside; today was Phase Two, which was siding and staining. It looks even nicer than our house! Haha!! Here are some pics: I'm starting to wonder if our yard will ever be a backyard, as opposed to just a construction zone...? Vwala! It looks a little more orangey than we wished, but I think it's still okay. The stain read, "Natural Cedar", not "Bright Orange". Hmm... oh well. Kevin is still working on building a lean-to (sp??) ~ something to keep the water from dripping directly beside the shed and running underneath... this way, we'll also be able to use the spaces along the shed as storage for our lawnmower and other things (since there isn't a garage on this years' "To Do" list, we have to cram as much stuff as we can into the shed and it's packed full already!). Atalie pushes this tricycle around b/c the ground isn't very smooth to sit down and her new bike is a bit of a struggle for her to pedal (or rather she doesn't really catch on to the whole one-foot-after-the-other motion). Koda enjoys a dust-coated watermelon rind in the shade. (Aiden was outside a bit today but napping when I took these pics.) And I can't believe I'm even posting these next two pics, as they're so unbelievably unsightly... our utility/laundry room. Somewhere on the "To Do" list yet, will be build storage shelves so we can have a place for things like leftover paint cans (and there are ALOT from when we first painted the house!), light bulbs and other odds n' ends, laundry soap, etc... in order to make better use of the current storage in the spare bedroom closets and under the stairs. Consider yourself priveleged (or not!) to have seen these ones;) We'll call them the "before" shots. Haha!! Can't wait to see the "after" shots!

His & Hers

Up until yesterday (after spending about $200+ on a variety of GF flours, a couple GF snacks and three GF cereals) I had a conglomeration of GF (gluten free) stuff mixed in with the regular (gluten) stuff in my cupboards. Now, the Celiac has a shelf in the pantry all to his own... lucky guy. His and Hers/Kids soup. Kev's is on the right and is made with brown rice pasta, which has no apparent difference in taste once you add it to something. His and Hers Breakfast Cereal (ok, I don't really eat granola much lately but if I did, this would count) His and Hers Stirfry Sauce, which I'm not that rediculous about so as to make two stirfrys, however I have one which contains modified corn starch which I'll have to use sooner or later... His and Hers Pasta. Alright, I don't eat KD much either, but I admit to enjoying it just as much, if not more than the kids do! His and Hers Chocolate Bars. A treat is good for us all now and then! His and Hers reading material. Kevin is making his way through "The First Year: Celiac Disease" and I'm learning how to adapt all my cooking/baking with a few books of my own:)

So long Suckers.

(...to the Canucks that is, not the cute little models!) This post is a little late but I guess the Nucks need an official, friendly farewell and possibly a firm "you'd better do better next year or else we're gonna start cheering for someone else!!!" sign off.

Victoria Day weekend

Coaldale was the place for us this past weekend. Kevin helped Dad with a day of re-shingling the roof (amidst a few need breaks, thanks to his recent lack of energy). We headed to the park on Sunday to let all the cousins (Israelson side, of course) play together ~ they had a blast... all except for Aiden, who was developing the flu, amongst teething... but that's another story all together (he passed it onto Atalie and when we got home we had a couple of horrid nights cleaning all sorts of unwanted bodily fluids, cooling fevers, cuddling and late-night laundry so as to avoid running short on bedding. ug!) Anyway, here's some pics of the more joyous memories;) Shingling Shy no more. This girl has come out of her shell! Poor little bup. He just looked at all the kids wondering what to do with himself and basically just milled around a bit miserable. Uncle Kev gets dog-piled! lol!! Everyone had a go at this thing. It spun around and around and around, until you either fell off or managed to stop yourself! Alisha picks a slightly safer approach to "spinning" things:) Boys' turn to spin! They don't last as long as the girls though;) Brooke is one tough nut to crack as she (and Jerah) stayed on the longest! Kevin and Tyler went for a pretty good ride actually:) Kevin was sicker than Tyler and gave up sooner too I think!

Digestive Healing...

I thought I'd share some of what I've been learning in finding healing and energizing "edibles" for Kevin to help his digestive track heal... 1st thing I was reminded of is that while taking iron, you need to space your calcium intake appropriately, meaning wait to drink milk for a couple hours orelse your iron pills will just go to waste; also, take Vitamin C to help aid the absorption of the iron. 2nd thing I was reminded of is the usefulness of asidophilus! It adds to your already occuring, natural, good bacteria in the digestive track, suppresses the growth of potentially harmful bacteria, improves immune function, enhances the protective barrier of the digestive tract, and helpes to produce vitamin K. Good thing I've got some left from when I did my cleanse:) 3rd thing I was reminded of is how healthy ginger is!! I found the following info on The Encyclopedia of Spices website. A little history lesson: Ginger is native to India and China. It takes its name from the Sanskrit word stringa-vera, which means “with a body like a horn”, as in antlers. Ginger has been important in Chinese medicine for many centuries, and is mentioned in the writings of Confucius. It is also named in the Koran, the sacred book of the Moslems, indicating it was known in Arab countries as far back as 650 A.D. It was one of the earliest spice known in Western Europe, used since the ninth century. It became so popular in Europe that it was included in every table setting, like salt and pepper. A common article of medieval and Renaissance trade, it was one of the spices used against the plague. In English pubs and taverns in the nineteenth century, barkeepers put out small containers of ground ginger, for people to sprinkle into their beer — the origin of ginger ale. In order to ’gee up’ a lazy horse, it is the time honoured practice of Sussex farmers to apply a pinch of ginger to the animal’s backside.. Medicinal Properties: Ginger is most commonly known for its effectiveness as a digestive aid. By increasing the production of digestive fluids and saliva, Ginger helps relieve indigestion, gas pains, diarrhea and stomach cramping. The primary known constituents of Ginger Root include gingerols, zingibain, bisabolenel, oleoresins, starch, essential oil (zingiberene, zingiberole, camphene, cineol, borneol), mucilage, and protein. Ginger root is also used to treat nausea related to both motion sickness and morning sickness. Ginger has been found to be even more effective than Dramamine® in curbing motion sickness, without causing drowsiness. Ginger's anti-inflammatory properties help relieve pain and reduce inflammation associated with arthritis, rheumatism and muscle spasms. Ginger's therapeutic properties effectively stimulate circulation of the blood, removing toxins from the body, cleansing the bowels and kidneys, and nourishing the skin. Other uses for Ginger Root include the treatment of asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory problems by loosening and expelling phlegm from the lungs. Ginger Root may also be used to help break fevers by warming the body and increasing perspiration.

Mothers Day day!

I totally forgot to post this until now! ...thought I had?!? Anyways, we went to a park in Cranbrook, had a picnic and got a few groceries:) It was a great day actually!!! Climbing the wall... Monkeying around... Teeter-Tottering... sort of;) Aiden came up with that one on his own, of course! Atalie has to try everything at the park! Aiden pretty much just ran around in a big blur the whole time. haha!

The doc's diagnosis.

Growing symptoms over the past few years have finally convinced Kevin to see the doctor. The past month has been very unusual with headaches, digestive problems and constant fatigue. He also lost 15lbs in less than a month, back in January, and we couldn't figure out why. He got some blood work done a few years ago when he last lost a significant amount of weight really fast, but nothing showed up in the results. Our doctor called him in for an apointment to discuss the result, which showed a significantly low iron rate - to be exact, the average iron stores (Ferritin) in a man should be around 50. Anything less than that will cause a noticeable lack of energy, 15 being quite low. Kevin's stores were shown to be at 3. Really low... which would explain why he feels so crappy lately! The official diagnosis is called Celiac Disease (sounds nasty doesn't it?) and is totally treatable, as most of you know, as long as you avoid gluten. When you don't avoid gluten, your stomach bleeds, becomes inflamed and weakens your small intestines ability to absorb nutrients, also losing iron with all the blood loss. I was a little surprised to learn that 1 in 130 people have allergies to gluten(!) and I've been hearing how the growing and processing of our wheat has been altered quite a bit over time, thus can't help but wonder if that would contribute to such high numbers? Either way... "Poor Kevin" you may be thinking; and yes, I agree - "Poor Kevin". Totally sucks. Infact, it's highly inconvenient for him -- but for ME???. What to eat?!?!? My first reaction to the news was, "what the bleep am I supposed to do with all the food in my house?! There's wheat in EVERYTHING!" and "how in the world am I supposed to suddenly alter my entire stack of recipes???"... and then my irritation became excitement as it occured to me that this was a great way to lose weight (hahaha!!) and to educate myself down the path of healthy eating! Afterall, I've been annoyed with the fact that Kevin enjoys the junkfood most people (including myself) do, such as chips and pop and icecream... and have been wanting to rid our house of as much as possible for quite some time. So I'm now pleased to say that I'm totally pumped for this complete changeover!! Of course, it means that we won't ever again be ordering pizza if I don't feel like cooking on a Friday (not that it happens more than once a year anyway), and that we can't just grab McDonalds or Subway while doing 8 hours of errands in Cranbrook on a Saturday, and that we'll have the very unfortunate duty of informing any dinner hosts that yes, we have an allergy in the family and trying to educate them in the ways of gluten-free cooking without inconveniencing them too much (totally not possible). In the end though, it's all good, just not convenient. So the journey begins! :)

Weekend Projects!

One down, ...how many to go??? Not sure. Either way, here's some pics of the finishing touches being added to the bed frame today (it's been on hold for awhile but is finally getting finished!): Out in the yard allllll day today! Still sanding and staining the headboard. Filling the nail holes around the trim pieces. Setting it up!!!!! Almost.... Vwala:) ***sigh*** isn't it spectacular? ;)