Wedding Week: Memories

It's wedding week at Love Grows Wild and The Grant Life!!

This post is suppose to be our favourite wedding moments but I am going to tell you about one; but I should start at the beginning.

When I graduated highschool my date for grad (we don't have prom here in Canada, it's just called Grad) was a very good friend of mine, Eric.  Some of Eric's friends had arranged for a group of us to take a horse drawn carriage from Stanley Park to where our dinner and dance was happening. 

I don't know why but I really wanted to go to McDonald's before we met at Stanley Park and Eric, being the sweet guy he is, agreed to go with me.  Yay!

However, unseen events (our friend Cam forgetting his tickets at home and realizing when we were almost there) made our time limited and we weren't able to go.

Fast forward to our wedding day.

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Wedding Week: Ceremony

It's wedding week at Love Grows Wild and The Grant Life!!

 

Danny and I got married 2.5 years ago in a beautiful park in the Okanagan. We were lucky enough to have mother nature cooperate - it lightly rained all morning and around 1 the sun started to poke through (we got married at 2:30).

In all honesty the ceremony went by quickly and I don't remember much. I remember having a moment waiting for the music to start, however my sister's boyfriend who was in charge of the music couldn't get into our laptop because he didn't have the password. By the time Danny entered the password my "moment" had passed and I was ready to get married.

I also remember knowing Danny was crying when I was walking down the aisle but because I wasn't wearing my glasses I couldn't actually see it. Probably a good thing or else I would have started too, which I did when it was my turn to say my vows.

I remember after the ceremony was done and waiting for pictures to start realizing what a silly idea it was to decide to wear a strapless dress in October (I was freezing).

That's all I really remember from the ceremony. Thankfully we have lots of pictures to fill in the rest.

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Also, I just started a Facebook page for my lil blog.  Stop by and say hi!

Secret Blogger Swap

A few months back I signed up for a Secret Blogger Swap and I found my parcel yesterday (I suspect it arrived the day before but someone forgot to mention it). 

Anyhoo, I grabbed my camera and started to open it.

this was inside the parcel

my letter from Gina

I thought this was funny

my gift :-)

Wedding Week: Decorations

It's wedding week at Love Grows Wild and The Grant Life!!

We had a very small wedding (35 people) so there wasn't much for elaborate decorations. However, I was thrilled with how our centerpieces turned out.

I found the idea of using mini pumpkins somewhere online and loved the idea. I think the orange went well with our flower colours.

We had about 15 or so in total and they turned out really well. (I've since seen the idea of using tape to keep them in place, which really would have come in handy). After our wedding I had people tell me they used the idea for Thanksgiving centerpieces.

I also found a site that talked about kids activity books and I knew this was something I needed to do for our nieces, nephews, and my youngest sister.

They were each personalized and had various activities inside, including a mad libs, crossword, colouring pages, word search, and mazes. The kids really liked them and it's a great way to keep them entertained during all the "boring" parts of a wedding.

Speed Dating (May 29th)

Nicole over at This Little Mama is hosting Speed Dating, Blog Style.  Go on over and join in on the fun.

Here's my Speed Date Info.

1. Danny and I met in 2005 while going to school for Music Business.  Even though we spent a lot of money to do nothing in that career path I think it was the best $15,000 I ever spent.
    
   
2. After finishing with school we decided to move to the sunny Okanagan.  It was the first time I'd ever considered moving away from "home" but I loved it, even when it hit -20.  I made good friends and had a job I adored.  If the opportunity ever arose to move back I'd leap at it. 
3. In 2008 we had Lynden.

   

   us as a family of 3

4. In 2009 Danny and I got married (it's wedding week, so you can check out more wedding stuff here)

   

   one of my fav's from our wedding day

5. In 2011 we had Alyssa - you can read about it here and here

   

   not a great photo but us with our daughter

6. We moved back home after Alyssa was born to be closer to the majority of our family.  Last summer we moved back to Maple Ridge, where 90% of my family lives - I think they should consider renaming the town.

Wedding Week: Invatations

It's wedding week at Love Grows Wild and The Grant Life!!

Today I'm talking about Invitations.

Because of our small wedding we didn't have invitations (we sent out an evite so people had the directions and address.  We called everyone who was invited). If Pinterest was up and running when we got married it would have been different.

So, I thought I would share some of the invasion ideas (via Pinterest) that I think are too cute.

tying the knot

Eat, Drink, and be Married

photo tags

5QF: May 25

It's that time again, 5 Question Friday

1. Are you a napper?

Before kids: no.
After kids: yes!  I find myself nodding off quite often when the kids are down for their quiet time.

2. What was your favorite subject in school? Most hated?

I really enjoyed History and English in school.  Especially in highscool, I had great teachers.
I did not like math or gym.  Again, in highschool I didn't have the best teachers.

3. Did you have the something old new borrowed and blue at your wedding? What were they?

Yes, my veil was borrowed and my jewellery was blue (it matched well with my pink shoes).

ignore the messy hotel room

   
4. What one thing are you determined to do this summer?

Have a good time with my kids.  Danny should be back to working non-stop this summer, which means he doesn't get much family time.  Although we've got 2 weeks of vacation in July, which I am really looking forward to.

Speaking of which, I am looking for guest bloggers to fill in for me while we're enjoying our family time.  If you are interested let me know.  You can contact me here or email me at bluepens_30{at}hotmail{dot}com. 



5. Ice cream or Popsicles?

Ice cream, unless it's the Popsicles with frozen yogurt in them, but only a certain kind.  But, mostly ice cream. 

Great... now I want ice cream ;o)

Happy Friday Everyone!

Does Your Heart Have Feet?

One day Lynden decided I wasn't feeling well and to make me feel better he was the doctor.  He took my temperature, gave me medicine, and listened to my heart. 

A few days later, at bedtime, he asked to listen to my heart.  This was our conversation:

Lynden: Does it have feet?

Me: No, hearts don't have feet.

Lynden: Then how does it walk?

Me: It's doesn't walk.

Lynden: Then how does it make that thumping noise?

It's not easy explaining to a preschooler why hearts make thumping noises, nevermind what a heart does.

Wordless Wednesday: Water Baby

While at the park we took Alyssa over to the water area; she Loved it!

Temper Tantrums

One of the things Lynden has had to adjust to while I've been back to work is having different people watch him.  We've been very lucky and he liked everyone who is watching him, but that does not stop the occasional break down when I have to go.

The worst was the morning after he fell and scraped his face.  When my friend Amber arrived to pick up the kids he went into full meltdown mode. 

I'm talking crying hard enough to make his eyes swell, screaming loud enough I prayed no one called the police, screeching that would wake the deal, all with arms and legs in full swinging and kicking mode.

At first I was calm, talking to him (while he continued to cry), explaining what was going to happen.  When he continued to be a blubbering mess I told him to go to his room until he was calm enough to talk to me.  I use this tactic quite often as he usually calms down within a few moments. 

Not this time.

After about 5 minutes I went into his room to talk to him (by this time his eyes were starting to swell).  Every time he sobbed "I don't want you to go to work" my heart broke.  But all I could do was tell him that I didn't want to go to work, but I had to, so he had to go with Amber, but I would be home tonight before he went to bed and I would be home all day the next day.  To which he'd say "I don't want you to go to work" and cry harder. 

I snuggled and cuddled.  I talked calmly and rationally.  I told him I had to go to work and I was sorry that made him upset but I had to finish getting ready (I was packing my lunch, feeding Alyssa, and trying to get the rest of their stuff packed).  I again told him he could come out when he was done.

After a few more minutes Amber tired to go in and talk to him about all the fun things she had planned for them.  Lynden didn't handle it well.

This is when it got bad.

He can running out of his room into the kitchen and crawled through the chair legs to hide under the kitchen table. 

This is when I started to get upset.

I dragged him, kicking. screaming, and screeching, out from under the table and carried him downstairs.  I was prepared for him to run back upstairs so I closed the baby gate behind us. 

When we got to the bottom of the stairs he got louder and more hysterical.  I sat him on my lap and pinned him in my arms so he couldn't run away.  I tried, still calmly but sharply (in my opinion), to talk to him.  I managed to get one shoe on him before he bolted back up the stairs. 

Here we are, standing in the entry, Alyssa ready to go with her brother having a meltdown, with 15 minutes until I need to leave for work.  I was at a loss for what to do so I resorted to threatening Lynden with the wrath of daddy.  This normally works.

Not this time.

Some Kids' Parents

Saturday was such a beautiful day and since Danny and I both had the day off we decided to do something with the kids.  We took them to a water park that's about 4 blocks away.  It's a great park!  There's 2 water areas, one for smaller kids and one for the older crowd, a small creek you can go wading in, and a great playground that's completely shaded in. 

One of the downsides of the park is the size of it; if you have 2 kids it's pretty much impossible to keep track of both of them.  Thankfully Danny and I swapped off on which child we watched. 

This was sadly not the case for another boy's father.  I'll start at the beginning.

Alyssa and I were sitting on the blanket and three boys ran by with water guns; I'm guessing they were around Lynden's age (no more than 2 years older).  For the sake of the story I'm going to call the youngest Johnny, his brother/friend (I'm not sure which) Sam, and the third boy (who did not know the other two) Peter. 

(This is no indication of people I know with these names)

After registering them I went back to feeding Alyssa her snack.  Shortly I heard one of the boys crying; it was Johnny.  Sam was telling Peter he needed to apologize for spraying Johnny in the eye.  Peter was refusing and telling Johnny to stop being a baby. 

Sam was getting more upset with the way his brother/friend was being treated and they decided to not play with Peter anymore.  When Johnny tried to walk away Peter kept getting in his way so Sam (not aggressively) pushed him out of the way so Johnny could walk away.  Sam also said "stop being a bully.  You are a bullying him."

This is when Peter got mad and wrapped his arm around Sam's neck and tried to drag him to the ground.  When Sam managed to get away Peter said (loudly) "f*#k, f*#k, f*#k". 

My jaw hit the ground!

Lovely Love

Alyssa:

- chews with front teeth like bunny
- happy dance when I offer her a snack
- "dancey girl" - when he danced she puts her hands up in the air and spins around
- when watching TV and they ask a question she answers
- when she's mad at Lynden, mainly because he won't give her the toy he's holding, she flops her arms in frustration.  It's super cute
- her favourite way to sit in her chair is to flip it and lounge
- when she's upset she babbles, like she's telling me what's wrong (I shouldn't admit to this, but sometimes I hold off on comforting right away so she'll babble - it's that cute)
- she loves to put her diapers in the garbage.  She now asks us to change her bum so she can throw out her diaper (note to self: be more diligent about checking diapers before changing them)

You're A Mom When...

You know you're a mom when:

- you try to catch vomit coming out of your child(ren)'s mouths instead of running in the opposite direction

- your idea of privacy is peeing alone

- you wonder "where the hell are Max and Ruby's parents?"

- your favourite time of the day is bedtime

Wordless Wednesday: Owie!

This is what happens when a 3 year old trips and falls onto cement

Creepy Lynden

Every now and again I will hear Lynden talking in his sleep, and depending on how long it lasts for or the tone he uses I'll go and check in on him.  I really need to stop doing that; it's creeping me out.

So, picture this. 

You're lying in bed (sometimes on the verge or falling asleep, sometimes asleep) and you hear this little voice coming from your child's room.  Sometimes it's just rambling, but it goes on for a minute or two.  Sometimes it's an urgent voice that makes you think your child is having a bad dream. 

So, as a good parent, you get out of your warm bed, walk down the dark hall towards your child's lightly lit bedroom.  You're prepared for your child to be sitting there, looking worried, and upon seeing you asking for hugs, kisses, and/or cuddles.

Instead you walk into the poorly light bedroom to see your child sitting up, talking, facing the wall. 

You stand there for a minute and ponder if you should go to your child or just leave unnoticed.

Then, your child turns around, looks right at you, not even registering you're there, and lies down and goes back to sleep.

Creepy!

Being A Working Mama

I went back to work after Lynden's first birthday and it was a fairly easy transition for us.  Danny was home for the first 3 months and then we moved Lynden into my sister in law's daycare when Danny went back to school. 

Knowing he was in good hands allowed me to go to work each day easily.  Even though I would miss him during the day and would spend 3 hours driving each day to get him to and from daycare it was reassuring knowing he was safe, happy, and having a good time. 

After we had Alyssa we did the math and decided it made no sense for me to go back to work to basically be paying for daycare.  But after being home for almost 16 months I needed the break from them (it also allows Lynden to get used to not having me home all day when he starts preschool in the fall). 

We, again, are fortunate to be able to rely on family to help out on most the days that I work.  As unhappy as Lynden was with the thought of me going back to work (we went through a spell of accidents) he is thrilled to be able to spend the time with various grandparents, cousins, and a friend of ours.  (This week we had to find a replacement person to watch the kids when my friend ended up getting sick.  Lynden was beyond thrilled with our cousin watching him that he was upset that daddy came home early and she wasn't here anymore.  Danny had to bribe him with a new car)

Park Time

One of the perks of our place is there's a good park super close; I mean less than 5 minutes to walk there (although it takes a little longer now that Lynden rides his scooter there and back, but still super close).  Every day this week he has asked to go; he loves the park.

I thought I'd share some pictures I took while there this week (as you'll be able to tell, the kids love the swings)

playing peek-a-boo in the tunnel

wearing the jacket Aunty got her for Xmas

Wordless Wednesday: Stylish Girl Part 2

In case you missed Part 1, check it out here.  And, yes those are her brother's pants she insisted I put on her head

3 Year Olds & Rainbows

I've mentioned before about our oldest niece being the age Lynden is now and how surreal it is to see similarities (you can read about it here).  One thing I vividly recall was her fascination with rainbows, any chance she could tell us about them she would. 

Now it's Lynden who is fascinated with rainbows.  We've seen The Cat in the Hat and Mickey Mouse rainbow episodes and Lynden understands what needs to occur to make a rainbow.  When it's raining (or sunny out, which is usually one or the other) he tells us why there isn't a rainbow. 

Occasionally the weather cooperates and gives us the right combination to make a rainbow but it always seems to be out of our line of sight.

Until Friday.

Friday was a normal day, some rain and some sun, but the stars aligned.  As I was getting the kids their bedtime snack and drinks I looked out the kitchen window and there it was.

I called Lynden to come outside and he was thrilled!  He was so excited he ran back into the house and told daddy to come out and look at it. 

It was so nice for him to see a rainbow that wasn't on TV. 

Five Question Friday - May The Fourth Be With You

1. What did you wear to prom? Include a picture if possible.

I wore a blue strapless dress for grad (we don't have "prom" here in Canada).  My mom had bought the dress the year before for a Senior Sail dance and I was able to rewear it for grad.  I LOVED the dress.  If I hadn't donated it to the Cinderella Program (they take worn grad dresses and offer them to students who cannot afford to buy a dress) I might have looked into having it dyed or something for my wedding dress - I loved it that much. 

this is one of my favourite pictures
you can see the front and back of the dress

This is my friend Chimmy
He's the best!
Who else can rock a blue zoot suit??

 
2. Would you rather be on the biggest loser or a food eating challenge?

Between the 2 I would have to pick a food eating challenge, as long as it isn't gross stuff.  I would not be able to do anything on Fear Factor; I think they sit around and try to come up with the grossest stuff to eat.

3. Done fave sonic drink? Refreshing summer drink? (Hey, Kristina...was that a typo, or some "done good" Southern thing?)

A refreshing summer drink?  Hmm... I drink water, ice tea (if it's in the house), and smoothies (although our magic bullet bit the bullet last summer and it sucked.  I love that thing!  We can make our own smoothies the way we like them and have them in our own cups.  We need to buy another one)

4. What was your first car, and what did you call it?
For my 16th I was given a 1972 VW Bug.  I drove it once.  When I went to go get my license my mom asked me how I thought I was going to do on the test, I told her I didn't know.  She asked why I didn't think I was going to get 100% - I failed.  I was really upset because her question psyched me out.  The question I failed on was "what would you do if the hood on your car flew up on the highway?"  I logically answered "pull over".  Wrong!  You're suppose to look through the crack until you can safely pull over.  

I had 2 issues with the question.  A) I had a 1972 VW Bug.  The trunk was in the front and when it popped up it didn't obstruct your view at all; it would have just slowed me down with the wind resistance.  B) On newer cars the dashboard is above the hood, so if your hood would pop up there would be no crack. 

I digress. 

I went back for my road test when I was 23; I passed that time.  My first car I drove was a 1991 Cavalier.  That car sucked!  In less than 2 years we put in almost $3,000 in repairs and it still kept breaking or dying every other week.  We finally gave in and junked it. 

5. What's one thing your child or spouse does that sends you over the edge?  

I can only pick one thing?!?!?  Drats! 

I had to think about it to narrow it down to my top 1 and it's how he loads the dishwasher.  Now, I am particular about how I load it but since I am the one who deals with it 98% of the time I'm allowed.  I have found a way to maximize how much I can get in there and get most of it clean (our dishwasher needs to be cleaned - it's on a to do list). 

There are things I don't put in the dishwasher unless I have extra room when I need to run it.  Those are the things he puts in first and leaves things like dishes out.  It's beyond frustrating when I see a bunch of dirty dishes on the counter and go to load them to find 3 tupperwares taking over the bottom rack. 

It's worse when he runs it.  Now I have a clean 3/4 empty dishwasher and when I reload it with the dirty stuff it's half full, which would have been cleaned if he had pulled the tupperwares out in the first place. 

However, I do have to give him credit.  He remembers to not put our good knives in the dishwasher, which I am thrilled with.  I think I would cry if I went to unload our dishwasher and found one of my $150+ knives in there. 

Isn't That Pinteresting - April 3

Here's what I've been pinning lately

Turning scribbles into art
A great idea for first artworks

Self watering starter seed pots
Once Danny's done with some pop I'm starting
especially since I just got some great seeds in my
covert robin gift

Kids' game
going to do this!

ruffle no sew tree skirt
love it

crayon art
would love to do for the kids' rooms

wood door mat
LOVE the colours, including the deck

jello cookies
Will be making

What's caught your eye?

Can I Do This For A Career?

I mentioned before that I we switched over to a new computer so I've had to go through all our old photos and I found a folder that I thought I had deleted; the photos of me trying on wedding dresses.

I have to say, trying on wedding dresses was a ball.  There is nothing more fantastic than wearing pretty dress after pretty dress after pretty dress (a few I tried on just for the sake of trying them on).

I really liked this dress. The neck line was beautiful, the embellishment under
 the bodice was stunning, and I loved the shape and colour.
It was just a bit too formal for what we had planned.

Same idea as the one above,
but I didn't love the neckline as much or the bunching at the waist

Again, same sort of style, and,
again, not right for our style of wedding. 

This was another one I really liked,
which is surprising since I have never pictured myself wearing a wedding dress.
  The beading was lovely.