May the luck of the Irish be with you...

St.Patricks Day is here (almost over actually). All four kids wore green today, and Ara and Cai were thrilled to find the leprechaun's footprints all over their classroom.

Rea was more subdued, but she's a good sport and played along :) It's amazing to watch how she changes as she grows. These pre-teen years are quite something...everybody tried to prepare me for them, but there's nothing like living it.All-in-all she really is a good girl (except when the hormones drive her crazy).

Cai is very into a mathematics and early computer programming  website. We're lucky to have them all in great schools where the resources allow them to do stuff like this. He spends as much time as I will allow him (usually about 30 minutes at a time) attempting mazes and puzzles on the computer. (Note how he couldn't look away once for the pic...and he does look a lot like Bruno Mars here, no?)

Little Ms. Ara, ladylike from the top of her little green bowler to the tips of her stockinged feet. This year was a learning year for her. She encountered some of life's harsh realities for the first time, and came through with flying colours...she is confident in who she is, and in what she is capable of doing. She has gotten comfortable with the specific aspects of being in a program for gifted and talented kids at school, and she is running with it...good stuff!

And then there's Eilam. Three years old...with a vocabulary to rival mine on a good day...and not even remotely interested in being potty trained!
I'm almost giving up here. We've tried everything...everything...threats, bribes, cajoling..."mummy's gonna run away from home if you don't potty"...everything.
And he won't budge.
Any tips???

So that's our St. Paddy's day in pics, with a commentary on where each of my lovelies is right now. I was hoping to get a pic of myself being green in here, but there wasn't a photog in sight when I stepped off the treadmill (and I really was green in the face...hee).

Okay...have a great weekend ya'll~!

Photoshoot

...and you'll be happy to know I was behind  the lens ;)

So, Oshean's uncle has the most amazing South African restaurant, here in Edmonton. He's recently thought about getting the restaurant on the internet, and needed some photographs taken.

Enter moi!

With the four munchkins in tow, I headed off yesterday to grab a few shots before the supper rush began. It was a different experience having to photograph inanimate objects, interesting though...and taste-bud-crazy-driving!

Yums, right?

(Thank you to my online, Facebook, scrapper, photog buddy Kelli for the food-shooting tips :))

Finding my way...

in the concrete jungle has been a trial through fire (of sorts).

After enjoying the graciousness of small town living for the past 9.5 years, the last few months in the big City have certainly been a jolt to my system.

But slowly I am finding my feet and getting to grip with how things are done here. I'm learning that to live here one has to be prepared to spend many many hours on the road; driving to and from schools, grocery shopping, entertainment for the littles, entertainment for the bigs and so forth.

I am finding that making friends is easier than I thought, but finding the time to grab a coffee with a new friend takes some kind of Herculian effort. Things are busy here.
But I'm coming around.

For the past two weeks, I've been burning the midnight oil in trying to get my online business, "The Paper Passion", up and running. I'm close to the end now, and things are shaping up exactly the way I hoped they would :)
So, check back in the next couple weeks for an opening announcement, or join our Facebook group for updates.
I have to thank everyone, the old customers, the potential new customers, friends...everyone, who's been so patient while I dealt with moving house, switching schools, family health matters, website issues and the such over the past few months. It's been a long time coming but I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel...

And now for something scrappy :)

created by request for Ms Becky Fleck's March 2011 Cardmaps