::ANNA::

The Weekend

It pretty much revolved around this little guy bar a few basketball/soccer games for Luke.

Last week was rough but we're making progress.  Eric's working on the training and it's already showing.

Austin is trying to dominate Luke.  As a result Luke is a little afraid and doesn't get too close. He'll be going to training with Eric on Wednesday.

Ella is the least interested in Austin.  She wants a Yorkie.  She's the first to defend him though and will quite happily watch while multi-tasking with the iTouch.  I find it interesting how different Austin acts towards Ella compared to Luke.

The reason I finally gave in.

A photo of me and a new hair cut looking a little tired but feeling great since cutting all grains out of my diet. Loving the variety of vegetables we're now trying and not missing the desire for sugar.

Good weekend.  Hoping for a great week.

Happy Thanksgiving

In the United States, we're getting ready for Thanksgiving and the long holiday weekend.  I'll be taking a little time away from the computer over the next few days to enjoy some family time.  You will want to check the blog on Friday, however, for a post you won't want to miss.  AnnaNews will be dispatched on Saturday per the norm.

Wishing you and yours a peaceful weekend.

A Creative Weekend

Creating magic on the court.

Creating memories with best buds.

Creating bigger bonds with Dad who is now coach.

Creating Christmas lists.

Creating my first canvas.

Creating special gifts for Santa.

Creating birthday invites.

Anything creative is always GOOD.

Snow Day

We woke up again to another blanket of white.  Deja-vous.  A quick hat change and I was Mom instead of designer today.  It's pretty much been the story of my week.  I'm just going with the flow at this point.  

I did manage to snap a few shots of the beautiful snow when the storm cleared this afternoon though...

And now we brace ouselves for more on Saturday.  Hoping for another god ski season this year.

Halloween Party 2011

It was quite the event.

Eric began decorating about a week prior and the preparations started early and continued non-stop throughout the day before all our guests arrived.  I barely got my costume on in time before they started piling through the door.

24 children for 3 hours.... What were we thinking?

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Making ghost tea light lanterns.

Making batches upon batches of gluten free and dairy free cookies.  I used this recipe for the dough and they were awesome.

Painting a skeleton for pin the eyeball on the skeleton.

Playing with dry ice.

The decor.

A little outside play.

The Mummy Wrap.

Too much sugar?

A spooky kind of picnic.

Leaving Eric and his brother in charge while I check out the view from above.

The food.

One happy 9 year old.

The Entertainer.

The best part of the night was during the *freeze dancing* when two big gorilla's (2 of the parents) crashed the party and joined in the fun.  It was a total suprise to everyone.  Totally awesome watching all those little faces as these two gorillas danced down the hallway.

It was a crazy exhausting 3 hours but it was also a lot of fun.  

The children went home and the adult party continued into the early hours where a well-earned glass or two of red wine was enjoyed with some of our neighbourhood friends.

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I found it quite a challenge to play host, entertain 24 children and be a photographer.   I had the strap around my next most of the night but I really could have done with an extra hand.   I'm disappointed that I didn't get more close-up shots but the children were moving so fast and there were SO many of them.

I also struggled with the light.  My house tends to be poorly lit anyway and not good for taking photos at night.  I don't like to use my auto flash but there were times I felt I had no choice.  There were also a few technical issues with the camera not working as it should.  I fear my trusty 20D might actually be dying on me as this seems to be happening more frequently over time.

The greatest regret was not getting a photo of myself.  I was dressed as a vampire.  

It's quite fortuitous that I have second shot when we go out trick or treating tonight.

The Weekend

Summed up perfectly by Eric:

1 soccer practice and 2 games

3 social gatherings

2 play dates

1 date night

1 batch of pumpkin muffins

1 run

6 glasses of wine

1 movie

4 loads of laundry

1 visit to the Spirit store.

We have 2 weeks of Fall break ahead of us so I might be a little bit slower on the email and blog updates as I incorporate a few Fall activities with Ella and Luke into my schedule.  We're planning a trip to the pumkin patch this week and our Halloween party is fast approaching.  

There is much to be done.

The Weekend

It was eventful.

It snowed which means ski season and the holidays are just around the corner. It also meant Luke's soccer game was cancelled.  As much as I love to watch little man play, I do not relish thought of standing for an hour outside in the cold.  I have to admit Iw as a little relieved.

Eric always cooks breakfast on the weekend.  Gluten free waffles or pancakes and bacon or hashbrowns and eggs are usually on the menu. 

99% of the time we eat here together, just the four of us.  When Eric deployed last year, it took many weeks before Luke stopped setting a place for him.

I kind of lost it with the state of the play room this weekend.  It's been an ongoing struggle for the past 3 years.  I can put up with a LOT for a long time but when I'm done.  I'm DONE.  The result of my dissatisfaction was a mountain of toys that had to be sorted and put away in all those containers by the end of the weekend or they would be donated to children that would appreciate them.  As you can see, neither one liked this, but it worked.

There's always a mountain of laundry.  Thankfully, I have a good guy who helps me keep up with the house.

Research began on Ella's human body project.

A trip to the mall where we stopped at the Mac store and read some of the tributes to Steve Jobs.

Dinner at the gluten and dairy-free friendly White Chocolate Grill.

A batch each of zucchini pineapple and banana muffins for the freezer.

Movie time.

Groceries.

 Making intestines...

...and brains from pantyhose/sheer tights for Ella's school project.

A little goofiness...

....and a lot of fun.

It was crazy, busy and eventful, but in GOOD way.   

This is the life we live.

On The HomeFront

A few of the behing-the-scenes moments from this weekend, as we officillay say goodbye to Summer in the United States and begin looking forward to Fall.  Already the temperatures are much cooler and the garden is producing an amazing crop.

A single cantalope melon.

Gardening in uniform.

Homegrown.

Sumo wrestling in craft room finds.

Gluten Free Dairy Free Cupcakes a la Ella and Papa

The game of hiding dessert passed down through the Davies generations.

A little couch time.

Hope you also had a good weekend.

ExtraOrdinary

It been one of the strangest weeks of my life, which is quite ironic since Ali's Week in the Life project, a celebration of the normal and every day, is in full swing.  Between helping a friend in need, and having at least 5 children in my house at any given time, hospital appointments and missing an absent Daddy, amongst other big changes, I have felt today like a stranger looking through a window to my own life.

I am a creature of habit.  I thrive on routine, to the point where I'm particular about the cup I choose for my morning coffee each day.  The slightest change makes a difference.  Changes in my routine throw me off kilter and have me feeling out of sorts.  That is me this week.

In short, I have been so busy being a good friend and a good mom, that I have nothing left to give this week in being a good artist and a good teacher.  Rather than give you mediocre, and put myself under undue stress, I will not be releasing any product this week.  I am also taking a break on Project 2011 and so there will there will be neither a Project 2011 post nor AnnaNews NewsLetter this weekend.  I'm hoping the stars align and I can return to some sort of normalcy next week.

Check back tomorrow, however, for a very special GiveAway.  

Thank you for understanding and wishing you a peaceful and relaxing weekend.

The Weekend

The highlight was Ella's Martial Arts testing for her blue stripe.  The were so many times we thought that this was just not going to happen for her.  At first she was struggling with her bow form.  She attended class every day for 6 days straight in order to get it right, and then it was questioned as to whether she could safely test with this hernia.  She prevailed on both counts and earned her blue stripe.  So so proud of her.  She worked hard for this one, and anyone who knows Ella, knows what a huge achievement that is.

We will be seeing the pediatric surgeon at Children's Hospital on Wednesday with regard to her hernia.

In the meantime, she is growing up right before our eyes.  In this photo she looks older somehow and I find myself catching a glimpse of what her adult self might look like.  Sometimes it takes a photograph, a snapshop of a moment in time, for me to really notice these leaps in development.

She aced her form.  I wanted to post her doing it but she didn't want me to and she's at that age now where she gets a say as to what I can post and what I can't.  She also broke her board first time and with ease.  Love the focus and concentration on her face as she prepares herself.  

We also enjoyed the first softball-sized heirloom tomatoes from our garden for dinner on Saturday night.

The garden got a slow start with our extended cold Spring but it's certainly beginning to blossom now. We've had a few other varieties of tomatoes, a couple of strawberries, sugar snap peas but I think the best is yet to come.  The squash/pumpkin patch is looking particularly promising (as long as we can keep the rabbits at bay).

Luke pretty much enjoys any opportunity to get wet, and I'm wondering, if ever, he'll grow out of his jammies-all-the-time phase.

A couple of other favorites....Luke eating with his eyes closed because he can't stand watching Ella eat a a grilled ham and swiss cheese toastie.  The stringy cheese apparently grosses him out.

Ella enjoying said ham and cheese sandwich, which she learned to make herself.

She also helped me make pizza this weekend.

Hope you had a GOOD one also.