The Tale of Two Bunnies

Santa brought Laila a bunny (the one on the right) for christmas and she has given it shall we say  "A lot of Laila Love".  Poor bunny has been pretty much ripped apart but she took it everywhere with her.  I figured I better try to replace it before it was to late to get another one.  

Bunny v.2 arrived last week and to my relief she took to that one like she did Bunny v.1.

Show us where you live Friday - "Kids Rooms" Edition

"Show us where you live Friday - Kid's Room Edition"

Hosted by Kelly over at   Kelly's Korner 

This the 5th week of this great "Tour of homes"  - Seriously, what will we do when we run out of rooms.  I loved looking at everyone's lovely dining rooms last week and I'm really excited to peek at all your kids rooms.  

We did our son, Hayden's room a few years back in a Thomas the Train theme and surprised him with it when he returned from his grandparents place on summer vacation.  He loved it so much then but now I'm starting to hear quiet rumblings that Thomas may be on the way out but I'm not sure what he expects it to be replaced with.

But he will need to wait until at least next year as we are going to embark on decorating Laila's room this summer.  As you will see in the pictures her room is lacking in the decorating department but honestly she only sleeps in there now so it fits the bill.  I'm still trying to decide what the theme will be for her so I will love to see what other mommy's have done for their little girls.

Both rooms are great sizes with hmmm...you guessed it "built-ins"  - while they are nice it has been a bit challenging trying to place furniture in the rooms.  I know as the kids get older the bookcases and desks will be great but for now it's been a little awarkard.  They both have nice walk-in closest which makes it great for clothes organization.

Here's a few pictures of each room..  Enjoy !!

Hayden's Room.....

I love Hayden's bed because we bought the trundle for underneath.  

It will be great when he starts to have friends stay over.

A view of the walk-in closet and the entrance to his room.

A view from the door.

The "built-in" bookcases and desk with the walk-in closet to the right.

Laila's Room....

A view from the entrance - One of my most favorite things in her room is the super cozy glider rocker.  I have spend may hours rocking both babies in that chair.

My other favorite thing is her crib which was actually Hayden's when he was a baby.

The change table that we will converted into a chest of drawers this summer.

A quick view of her "walk-in" closet.  

Mommy has a small shopping problem but gosh little girl clothes are just to darn cute.

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Well that's a quick look at my kid's rooms and I thank you for stopping by !

If you want to see more great kids room stop by Kelly's Korner.

Orange Chicken Rice Bowl

I made this stir-fry for supper last night from Kraft Canada and it was a hit for every member of the family.  It's super easy to make and the leftovers tasted even better today.

What you will need:

1 lb (450 g) boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips

1/4 cup Kraft Signature Asian Sesame Dressing

1/4 cup orange juice

3 cups of frozen stir-fry veggies ( I used fresh carrots, red onions, peas and red pepper)

3 cups of hot cooked long grain rice

1/4 chopped nuts (I used cashews)

How to make it:

Heat large nonstick skillet on med-high heat.  Add chicken,  stir-fry for 6 minutes or until cooked through.

Stir in dressing and juice.  Bring to a boil.  Add veggies; cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until heated through, stir constantly.  

Note : Because I used fresh carrots I put them in the skillet with a little EVO before cooking the chicken to soften them up - just remove before adding chicken.

Remove from heat and serve over rice then sprinkle with nuts.

Another weekend over...

Really I think weekends should be 5  days because seriously when you own a home and have kids there is never enough time to get everything done in 2 days.

Although tempted I resisted watching the Jon & Kate + 8 marathon this weekend on TLC.  Honestly, why would I want to watch that train wreck all over again.  But I'm sure I will be tuned in like millions tonight to watch them "face each other" for the first time.  What is wrong with these people....I personally think the only thing that makes her mad is he got caught.  It is a "big money" train for Kate and my  feeling is the train is comin' to a stop very soon.  No more personal appearances all over the country and no more $20 autographs.  I ask the question also why she needs a bodyguard - I guess those fans at the church speaking engagements are a rowdy bunch !  I swore I wasn't even going to discuss this on this blog but I just couldn't resist any longer.

So I'm wondering how many calls to HealthLink regarding Laila have to be made before a "red" flag is raised and Social Services stops by to investigate.  (I kid really !!)  But seriously, this child is like a walking accident but this probably has something to do with the fact she goes about 100 km/hour at everything she does.  

Our latest incident occurred on Friday evening.... the kids had just had baths and were freshly dressed in pj's.  With the intention of them  heading to bed in 5 minutes.  Hayden came running back in from his room and she was running out of our bathroom.  They hit "head on" with her of course taking the brunt of the hit.  She fell backwards and hit the back of her head on the corner of the baseboard.  She started screaming which to me is always a good sign and within seconds there was a huge goose egg on the back of her head with a cut about 1.5 inch long.

We called HealthLink and after speaking with the nurse figured Laila would be fine at home. She said we should just check her hourly for the next 6 hours.  She was fine in the morning and the bump was gone.  But seriously, this is the 4th call in the last few months with an ambulance ride thrown in for good measure.  She is so different then Hayden who was calm and relaxed but  little miss daredevil certainly keeps us on our toes.

I went to one of the local nurseries on Saturday and picked up a few bedding plants for my outdoor pots and apparently everyone else in Calgary decided to the do the same thing.  I have never seen that place so busy but seriously this was the first weekend that I would have considered it safe to plant anything.  The landscapers are coming tomorrow to power rake and  air raid our lawns then our sprinklers are being turned on Wednesday.  Summer makes me so happy but with the way our weather has been I'm sure it will be over way too soon !!

Hubby surprised me on Sunday by getting up super early and cleaning my van.  With two kids and spending as much time as I do it in you might think we were homeless and living out of it.  It seriously needed a good cleaning and it so pretty now.  Let's see how long we can keep it like that.  Thanks my beloved for the wonderful surprise.

We had a great BBQ with some friends last night and just hung out with them for a few hours.  Then poof it was Monday morning again.  Faruq is in Fort McMurray for the day and not back until 7:30 tonight which is long day for him because he leaves on the Corporate jet at 5:00 am.

It's going to be almost 20 here again today so I think Laila and I maybe having a little picnic in the backyard this afternoon after Hayden goes to school.

Get out and enjoy this lovely day - Happy Memorial Day to all my american buddies !!!

Chow for now....

Friday means family...

As soon as daddy gets home from work we are heading out to get haircuts (we all need them desperately) then maybe pick up some supper.

The plan is to then rent "Night at the Museum" because Hayden would really like to go see the sequel that is coming out (I think today).

I finally got the monkey bars that have been backordered from Toys R Us yesterday so that's on the agenda to put them together.  

We have swimming tomorrow morning then a quick trip to the farmer's market afterwards for next week's fruit and veggies.

I may try to head to my favorite nursery to look for a few bedding plants....gosh I hope it's safe to plant them now.  Although we just had snow last week !

No other real plans though and that's just the way we like it on the weekends !

I hope all my american friends have a nice Memorial Day on Monday.

~ Chow for now ~

Michelle

Show us where you live Friday - "Dining Room" Edition

"Show us where you live Friday - Dining Room Edition"

Hosted by Kelly over at   Kelly's Korner 

This is the 4th week of the great "tour of homes"  -  Last week it was so cool looking at everyone's guest rooms.  Thank you for the wonderful comments on our not so conventional guest room.  We love the space and put a lot of planning into it.

This week we are going to tour "Dining" Rooms and while I have a beautiful space that is designed for that purpose it's not being used for dining.

I do have a dream of what the space will look like in 10 years (if I'm lucky) but for right now it is being used by the smallest members of our family.  Honestly, when we viewed the home for the first time this is exactly what I envisioned for it so it fits perfectly.

It is ideally situated right off the kitchen and just across the hall from my office so it was perfect for a playroom.  It has big bright windows and lots of space.  It's fun being in the space and the kids love it.

Here is what my dream dining room will look like in a few years...

But for now this is what it looks like and I'm perfectly fine with that .  :}

The area for the hutch fits the IKEA Expedia bookcase perfectly !  As well, I picked up the little chair from there and it's great for the kids to snuggle into while reading books.

A view from the kitchen.  I just picked up a remnant from one of the carpet stores for the floor.  We have tried those foam tiles but they are a pain to keep clean underneath.

Laila's little kitchen and chairs/table.  

I picked up the kitchen last Christmas at Costco !  I knew she was a little young but I loved the fact that it was all wood.  She does play with it a lot now.

I have set up another area for them to sit and read in front of the windows.

The last time I went to IKEA (seriously most everything came from there) I snagged some great inexpensive picture frames in primary colors that we have placed throughout the room.  We still need to hang a few of the larger ones but really there isn't much else left to do.

Thanks for having a peek! 

If you want to see more great dining rooms stop by Kelly's Korner !

If you own a 6 yr old you must read this....

I love, love, love Alice over at Finslippy !  I find her very funny and her writing is so witty. But today I read a blog post that really she could have been hiding in one of my kitchen cupboard writing about my relationship with my nearly 6 year old little monster (I mean angel) !

You really must stop  by and read this post about her 6 1/2 year old son.

Thanks for the morning chuckle Alice !!