Wordless Wednesday - July 28th

~  Sweet Sophie ~

7 months

A Great Weekend !!

We have had a few tough weeks at home with Faruq working some long crazy hours and me having the three kids home now.  Laila and Hayden have constantly been at each other which has caused Mama a little bit of stress.  It's hard to plan outings during the weekdays with Sophie still needing to nap a few times during the day and really if I'm being truthfully honest it's just tough to cart three little's around by oneself.

But we have tried to make the agreement that while Faruq works long hours during the week he is to be home during the weekends so we can have some qualify family time.

Friday night Faruq took Laila and Hayden to see these guys:

From the reviews when they got home everyone had a great time and it was well worth the money.  We love Sesame Street in our house and usually watch it every morning so it was a real treat for the kids to see them live.

Today we had an awesome day with lots of family activities packed into it.   Faruq and Hayden started the day with their weekly breakfast at Ricky's then made a quick trip to Wal-Mart.

The girls had eye appointments in the early afternoon and honestly I wasn't sure how Miss Laila was going to react because this was already a rebooked appointment for her.  We had booked Hayden and Laila in January but when she got there for the first appointment our little free spirit would have no part of the exam so we rebooked it for today.

Sophie went first and was a little angel during the exam but to be fair the doctor said the 6 month exam is usually pretty easy.  He found no issues with her which is a relief.  Next up Laila and you know what she did great as well.  Faruq took her in and he said she just sat for the doctor while he did the exam.  Usually they don't test them after the 6 month exam until at least 3 but they suspected Laila might be nearsighted and wanted to follow-up before 3.  Well she is not so he doesn't need to see her until next summer again.

We had heard the rumor that the LEGO store was now open in Calgary and because we were already half way to that mall we figured we would take the kids for lunch and a little shopping.  Plus with it being Stampede week here we figured it might be a little quieter then it normally is.

So the LEGO store was indeed open and there were tons of people in there (from what I heard it was nothing like it was in the morning).

Because there was very little room to move around the store Sophie and I made the executive decision to head to one of our favorite stores Williams-Sonoma !

We picked up an amazing cake platter on sale for $25 with an original price tag of $70.  Now I just need to bake a lovely cake or cupcakes to display on it.

I got the kids these cute cookie cutters....

So of course we will be making some sugar cookies this week.  I also picked up some plain circular cookie cutters that came as a set with 5 different sizes.

While we were browsing I happened upon these beauties and know they just need to be added to my kitchen. I will be writing my note to Santa this week !

Well after almost an hour in the LEGO store daddy and the kids finally emerged with their purchases and we decided to call it a day.

After church tomorrow we plan on just having a lazy day at home with yard work, cleaning and baking on the books.

I truly love weekends like this where we are just together as a family and enjoy each other.  I hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend wherever you are !!

Yeehaw...

It's that time of year again in Calgary ... Stampede Time !!  I have to say I tend to just buckle down and wait for it all to be over with.  There are pancake breakfasts everyday at numerous different locations.  Just yesterday I got 7 notices in my email of upcoming events.

Hayden and Faruq ventured downtown yesterday and watched the parade that opens Stampede.  Neither were overly excited upon arriving home so I my take was that it was just "Okay".    There is a rodeo and a big amusement park but neither events are entertaining to me.  I guess when the kids get old we will probably partake in more events...maybe.

On the plus side Costco and Safeway were dead, dead, dead when I went there yesterday and expect that pretty much anywhere you go over the next 7 days will be like that.

So for all those who live for this time of the year I wish you a Happy Stampede...be safe, don't drink too much and if you do find a safe way home and enjoy the deep fried Mars bars !

O' Henry Squares

What you need:

1 c. corn syrup
1 c. sugar
1 c. peanuts (I got unsalted and I don’t chop them)
1 c. peanut butter
3 c. Rice Krispies
1 pkg. chocolate chips
1 pkg. butterscotch chips

How to make them:

Stir together corn syrup and sugar. Microwave for 2 minutes. Add peanuts and peanut butter to the Karo mixture. Microwave everything for 1 minute. Add 3 cups of Rice Krispies. Spread into a greased 9″ x 13″ pan.

Combine chocolate chips (on bottom) and butterscotch chips in a bowl and microwave for 2 minutes. Stir until smooth. Spread over krispie mixture and cool in the refrigerator.

Remove and cut into 1-inch squares.

These are very yummy and I will warn you that it will be hard to stop at only 1.

Hayden turns 7 !!

Hayden's official birthday was this past Saturday - July 3rd and we a super fun day at home with just the family.  Originally, we had planned to have a mini-sleepover with two of Hayden best friends but both are away at their family's summer places so we will try that in August when they return.

We started the morning with a yummy breakfast of pancakes and sausages with chocolate milk.

He then opened some presents from his sisters..DVD's, T-shirts, comic books and candy !  We gave him a few big LEGO sets a little later on in the day.

He and dad then went out for lunch to MacDonald's and enjoyed some guy time at the driving range.

Hayden got to pick what he wanted for supper and his selection was just a win/win for mama.  We got Olive Garden "To Go" and it was super yummy.

After supper we had some birthday cake.  He has been pretty easy on me this year with regards to cakes.  First he wanted a LEGO cake and then for his real birthday he said he wanted something to do with "Arts and Crafts".  I immediately thought of an Artist's Palette which really turned out to be pretty easy to do.

We ended the night by watching a few movies and just celebrating Hayden !  The next afternoon he and I went to see Toy Story 3 and had a great time out together.

~ Happy Birthday Hayden ~ 

I truly find it hard to believe you have been with us for 7 years.  You are an amazing young man and we are very, very proud of you.  Rock on little buddy !!

Love Mama, dad, Laila and Sophie !

Happy Birthday Canada !!

I'm so proud to live in Canada and to be called a Canadian.  This is a great country that shows a tremendous amount of compassion for the rest of the world.  We are a gentle and peace loving nation.

We had planned on taking in some celebrations today but had a rough night with Laila last evening so everyone is a little tired today.  We have opted to stay home and just enjoy each others company while fitting in a few well deserved naps.

Happy Birthday Canada !!