Today is my daughter’s 6th birthday. I cannot believe she will be going to school in the fall! Of my three children, Grace was my smallest baby (7lbs 1/2 oz) and she was also the quickest after only an 8 hr labour and delivery. She is a very stubborn and strong willed girl, but she is also sensitive and very loveable. She loves hugs and snuggling up to me while we watch t.v. She loves to dance and sing and play dress up and she is a great little artist as well. So Happy Birthday to my darling daughter today…Love you lots Gracie Pooh!!!

only a few months old and full of smiles.

a proud big brother and his baby sister

even at a young age, she was walking all over daddy

the famous cottage bucket…i’m sure every grandchild had a summer to play in it.

grace and her great grandmother (my nanny)

having fun on the playground

my big girl…all ready for school in the fall!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRACE

Today I worked on the two bathroom closets, the space underneath our bathroom vanity and the girl’s room.  It’s definitely a work in progress, but I am really getting into this de-cluttering process!  I’m actually enjoying it believe it or not! Here is what I have accomplished today.

The girls room ~ before:

after:

bathroom closets ~ before:

after:

I’m working on more of the kitchen cabinets today and hopefully I will tackle this lovely mess tomorrow….ugh!!! not looking forward to this one!  This is one of our “junk” rooms in the basement.   This pic was taken at least 3 months ago and the room still looks the same.

I really got a lot accomplished today! I think the wet rainy day outside helped.  Hubby is waiting for me to watch a movie with him, so I will keep this short.  Here are some before and after pics.  I also de-cluttered 4 drawers and the corner cubby in the kitchen and the 4 drawers in our bathroom vanity….wooohooo!!

Before and After:

Before and After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

I am so proud of my kids tonight. Grace graduated from french kindergarten tonight and Braeden had a brilliant performance in his school play “Romeo and Juliet”.

My proud little grad:

Grace had a great year in Kindergarten. She met alot of friends and enjoyed being in school. She had no trouble with learning french and she is really happy about going into grade one in the fall.

Braeden totally blew me away with his performance tonight. He played “Mercurtio” in Romeo and Juliet he did an amazing job. He was totally in character. I missed the first 10 min because Grace’s graduation began at 6:30 pm, so of course Braeden’s play was scheduled at 7pm the same night! Grace accepted her certificate and we were out the door in one fail swoop! Gabby was being difficult and really gave me a hard time at Braeden’ s play. She started getting really bad just after Braeden’s character was killed, so I didn’t mind taking her out and letting her run around the school. She was fascinated by the boys in the gym playing volleyball…not a good sign! hehe. Anyway, as I mentioned Braeden was amazing tonight and I wish I had recorded the performance on video. I may ask him to ask his drama teacher if he could have a copy of her recording. I won’t ask her myself because well…… I DID end up calling the principal yesterday and complaining about her comment to my husband about Braeden missing a practice. Believe me, the complaint was well justified!! Braeden wants to participate in the drama club next year and after his performance tonight, I’m not about to discourage him. He really did a phenomenal job tonight and I’m happy he has found something he truly enjoys.

the performance:

his character being killed

Today, I did a little organizing before I have to head into work.  I really HAVE to be in the mood before I can accomplish these de-cluttering projects.  I did my pantry cupboard and organized my recipe books.  It wasn’t a major task, but every little bit helps!

pantry cupboard ~ before:

and after!

I didn’t get a before shot of this one…you’ll have to trust me!   

I’ve never been much of a quitter. That being said, I must say I’ve been slacking off on completing the tasks for CPO’s 28 day Clutter Control bootcamp. So….I have decided to try and complete ALL tasks within the next 2 weeks. Crazy? Maybe. But I’m up to the challenge!! Below is a shortened version of the 28 day clutter control tasks that have been assigned. For each topic, I have linked the helpful tips that were included on the board. Feel free to check them out, as it is very valuable information. This IS my mission and I CHOOSE to accept it!!!

DAY 1: assemble a sparkle kit

DAY 2: system 5 ~ a five step process for de-cluttering

DAY 3, 4: mudroom/entry way

DAY 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10:

organizing the kitchen

cleaning the kitchen sink

DAY 11, 12, 13, 14: family room ** family room rules

DAY 15: cleaning the bathroom in 15 min

DAY 16: organizing the bathroom (making the most of your space)

DAY 17: put the final touches on the bathroom

DAY 18, 19: the laundry room

DAY 20, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26: the master bedroom, children’s bedroom, closets and clothing, cupboards

That is the info I have up to this point. I hope I didn’t leave anything out. Below are some pics of what I have accomplished so far.

sorting through clothing and organizing my closet

before:

after:

I ended up with 2 bags of clothing to donate.

Hall Closet

before:

after:

Announcing the Winner

A co-worker of mine recently won the “bring home the stanley cup” contest. I am sooo happy for him. He is amazing and I can’t imagine anyone more deserving than him. Adam has a mysterious neurological condition that has prevented him from speaking since the age of 13. But that hasn’t stopped him from being one of the most outgoing and friendliest person I have ever worked with. He is always “chatting” with someone. By using various facial and hand gestures, he can carry on a lengthy conversation with anyone.
Adam also plays goalie for the special olympics floor hockey team. Many of you may not know this, but I was a volunteer for special olympics for 4 years. I coached the soccer team and even had the opportunity to travel to sudbury for the national games in 1998. It’s an amazing organization and the athletes are terrific. It is something I will always treasure.

After a long wait (a little over an hour), Mr. Messier finally made an appearance. I can tell you he is a real genuine guy and I admire the fact he took the time out of his busy schedule to make this special presentation to Adam. He will also travel to Adam’s house for a BBQ with Adam and 19 of his friends (many are co-workers and his teammates from floor hockey).

During the special olympic national games in Sudbury, Eric Lindros was there to sign autographs for the athletes. He walked 10 feet from his vehicle to sign autographs for maybe 5 minutes and then left. What an A$$!!! I have no respect for him as an athlete or as a person for that matter. Both Lanny MacDonald and Doug Gilmour were present at the opening ceremonies that year and were more much interested in being there than Eric Lindros.

So below are some of the pics I took this afternoon. I wish I had gotten a bit closer, but I think I managed to get a few good shots! Congrats again to Adam…your truly deserve it buddy!!!

Gabby doing the “wave”

Adam and his brother with the Stanley Cup

Mark Messier with “Boomer” Gallant

What a great smile!!

My grandmother, my mother and myself on my wedding day

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY EVERYONE!

Coming from a family that enjoys eating, it is only fitting that Mother’s Day (and Father’s day) is celebrated by going out to brunch. For the past few years, my brothers, sil’s, nieces, nephews and my parents have been going to The Lady Slipper restaurant for brunch. It’s nothing fancy, fruits, salads, sausages, pancakes, hashbrowns, eggs in a basket, seafood chowder, veggies, lasagna etc, etc, etc. But boy are we STUFFED when we leave! The food is delicious and the desserts would blow your mind!!!! There are cheesecakes, mousses, trifles and pies to name a few. Word really gets around quickly in our little town and now I usually make the reservation 3 weeks in advance to be sure we get a table. Poor hubby had to work today so he missed out. He did leave me a sweet mother’s day card from him and the kids and called and left a message wishing me a happy mother’s day.

I’ve always enjoyed my mother’s day, but the past two years I always seem to spend some part of the day in tears thinking of my grandmother. She passed away two years ago while I was pregnant with Gabby. She truly was an amazing woman and meant the world to me. I knew the day would come when she would no longer be around, so a few years ago I wrote her a letter telling her how much she meant to me. She was very hard of hearing, so writing a letter rather than trying to communicate my feelings made much more sense. I know the letter touched her because she showed everyone what I had wrote. The letter was suppose to be for her eyes only, but I didn’t mind. That’s who she was. She loved talking about her family; how many grandchildren and great-grandchildren she had. At last count, she has 32 grandchildren, 50+ great grandchildren and a few great-great grandchildren. The hardest part about her passing was selling her beloved cottage. The cottage meant the world to her and I know she would be absolutely devastated to know that it had been sold. Though it was old and run down, it was her heart and soul. You couldn’t think of the cottage without thinking of her. I’ve saved a few pictures of my grandmother at the cottage and plan to frame a few to put them up at my parents new cottage. I know it would mean alot to my mother and it would be like having a little piece of my grandmother still with us.♥

So today I wish all the mother’s, grandmother’s and mother’s to be a very happy MOTHER’S DAY!

Doris Mary Morrison Jan 3, 1912 ~ June 27, 2006

“Miss you Nanny!”

Mom and Braeden ~ 1994

If you haven’t heard, the PEI gov’t has pulled the school buses off the roads for the next two days leaving parents with the responsibility of getting their kids to school. Westisle high school was missing half of the student population because it is located in a rural area and some of the kids have to travel 30 min to get there.

“I’m disappointed,” said Dale Sabean, superintendent of education with the Western School Board.

“It’s not a wise choice” considering there’s just six weeks left and exams are looming, not to mention the loss of more than two weeks due to fierce winter weather.

“It’s sad to say there doesn’t appear to be the commitment to attendance on the part of students (at Westisle).”

If they have working parents and don’t have access to a vehicle, how do they expect students to get to school?

The thing that bothers me the most is that this didn’t just happen overnight. In a report written by the PEI Auditor General (Colin Younker) back in 2006, he stated that older buses should receive periodic inspections for structural integrity and that regular inspections on the buses were NOT being performed.

Of the 20 buses examined during a routine inspection, 16 of them had serious structural problems. My son travels on a bus to and from school and hearing those results infuriates me!

In 2006 school bus maintenance was no longer the responsibility of the school boards and was transferred to the provincial department of transportation. In a 2007 report, the PEI Auditor General noted there was staffing problems within the transportation department and has been “calling on the Department of Education to develop a long-term plan for school bus acquisition, which considers the cost-benefit of maintenance versus replacement, as well as the optimum size of the bus fleet.”

I’m sure if they took half of what government officials receive for travel/misc. expenses, we would have safe buses for our children.  It’s no wonder that people lose faith in their government!

Today is the first day on PEI that carbonated beverages have been sold since 1984.  While at the grocery store this morning it was a little odd to see canned beverages everywhere.  I’m not much of a pop drinker myself, but every now and then I do get a craving for a cola (pepsi of course!).  But honestly, I really don’t understand what all the hype is about?  They are after all just cans people!  Personally, I prefer glass bottles to cans because if I wanted to have the taste of tin in my mouth, I would go lick a metal pole!

Then of course there is the Sunday shopping issue.  I work in retail, so I’m not sure if that’s the reason I’m opposed to Sunday shopping or not.  I just think there should be one day a week that people can spend with their family.  If you need to pick something up that badly, you do have 6 days a week to go shopping.  What about locally owned convenience stores?  How much will Sunday shopping affect their business?

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for progress when it comes to PEI.  But bottled pop/beer and Sunday shopping is something I can definitely do without!