Ramblings of a Stay-at-Home Mom

[caption id="attachment_714" align="alignnone" width="3264"] Someone got buried in the snow by Daddy. And loved every minute of it. [/caption] Reading Into Thin Air . I’ve heard really good reviews about this book (and the author in general) and since the movie came out about it, I decided that it was time to read it. Only a couple chapters in right now, and so far loving it. Playing catch-up on some journaling. Really hate falling behind, especially in the girls’ journals. Trying to be more careful about the foods that I'm eating. A little less sugar and snacks and more fruit and veggies. Knitting my double-knit Sonic square  for the 2016 GAL Blanket. I've found that getting up with Keith in the morning before he goes to work and then sitting down with my knitting, some tea and a pod cast really helps me with these squares. Planning to do some more purging next week. My pantry and craft closet really need a good clean-out and re-organization...

As per my new 2016 album changes, here's the layouts for Week 03+04 Week 03 was pretty easy to put together. I had made some pre-designed templates for myself in the 8x11 size, so it was pretty simple once I figured out how many photos I was using.  The background paper is from the PL Cinnamon Kit , with the weekly word art from Ali Edwards (can't find a link to it). Week 04 was pretty easy to put together as well. A couple quick edits on the photos, grabbed the weekly word art and some hearts (can't remember where I got those from), and voilà! I'm going to try to stay on top of posting my layouts on Wednesdays, as that gives me a couple days to get everything done.

So I've decided to make some changes regarding my 2016 album. As much as I love working with Project Life, I find it a bit restrictive when using the App. I find it very useful for doing the girls’ albums, but when doing my weekly layouts (or my travel album), I find that I'm getting a bit bored with it. I mean, it’s nice and all for being super simple, but after a while, all the pages look repetitive will the all the pockets the same size, just different layouts. I think the other problem (for me) is that the pages/albums only come in 8x8 or 12x12. So either really small or really big. And either decently priced or outrageously priced for a print (average price of a 12x12 print is $2), especially when you’re looking at doing a digital book. And that’s just money that I don’t have to throw around for books, even though I’d really love too. And while I've been using the App for over a year, I do find it really restrictive. It’s nice if you just want to add your photos and jo...

Reading Into the Heart of the Sea. I'm about ½ done, as I'm taking my time to slowly read it and understand everything that’s going on. Watching the Harry Potter movies with Violet. I'm only allowing her to watch the first couple movies (with me of course), as the last few can get pretty dark at some points for a 4-year-old. But she’s been loving them so far! Cooking a lot of the usual lately, but also incorporating more veggies/salads into the mix. Eating more green veggies during the day. It seems to help with my energy levels. Knitting the double-knit of Kirby . I'm really loving that I'm able to keep on track (somewhat) with the Geek-Along-Blanket this year. Loving that my new fridge and stove are coming on Tuesday! Our old set is at least 10 years old (I think the stove might be pushing 20) and it was time to replace them. So can’t wait! Hating that I've been catching Dominique colour on the walls with crayons. Luckily they are easy to wash off, but ...

Reading Into the Heart of the Sea . I've been getting more into non-fiction books lately, especially survival accounts. So far this is proving to be a good one to read. Drinking way too much tea lately. It's almost the only thing I'm drinking right now, besides 2 glasses of water in the mornings. Maybe I should change that around..... Knitting (finished actually) the Mario Kart square for the 2016 GAL Blanket . Took me a bit longer than usual to get it done (thank you girls for constant interruptions), but I finally got it done in time to have a 2-day break and wait for the next square to be released on Sunday. Doing nothing much this weekend, except working and visiting the in-laws. Loving that Keith just ordered me a new fridge and stove last week and it should be here in 10 days!! Hating this whining stage that Dominique is in. I think she's starting the terrible 2's a couple months early........ Enjoying my new FitBit Flex that I bought myself during the ...

Week 2 of 2016 is in the books! And it was a very busy/productive week here in the Neufeld household. On Monday I ended up taking almost 3 hours to transform the Spare Room into the Play Room , which cleared a lot of room in my living room. It was also the week of getting a new Guinea Pig that Violet named Elsa, visiting my grandparents, and having some outings. Like I've stated before, I'm using the Project Life App to document this year. For this week I used cards from the Project 52 2016 Edition , along with some Photoshop skills.   This week was pretty easy to put together, thanks to notes on my phone and a pretty easy selection of photos to choose from.

We finally got a Play Room for the girls' set up! This makes me so excited, even if it did take me almost 3 hours to transform that room. You see, there's 4 of us, in a not very big house. Granted it's a decent size, I'm not complaining about that. But 4 of us, on one floor (we rent out the basement for extra $). Luckily, the main floor has 3 decent sized bedrooms, a decent living room and kitchen and 2 storage closets (!!). Back when each girl shared a bedroom, all the toys were in the living room. And then when we moved Dominique into Violet's room, that room became the Spare/Storage Room over the Christmas holidays because off the Christmas stuff I had to hide from the girls. So after Christmas was all said and done and I was back to being home during the week (thank you God for Keith's new job!), it was decided that we'd turn the Spare Room into the Play Room. And crossing our fingers that  most of the toys stay in there. So Monday morning, I went to wo...

I made it to the end!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1 Ok, may be a bit overboard, but I finished up my album and have ordered it already! Day 26 was busy with 2 gatherings with the grandparents. Lots of food, and lots of playing around for the kids. [caption id="attachment_444" align="alignnone" width="1380"] The journal and filler card are both from the Hello December 2015 Kit .[/caption] Day 27 was our last day for gatherings and it was spent at my Dad's place. Unfortunately Keith couldn't make it as he was sick with a sore throat and feeling like s*^t. But there was still lots of fun with the 4-wheeler and toboggan, stuffing ourselves silly and reading a Christmas story with Papa.   [caption id="attachment_443" align="alignnone" width="1380"] The journal and filler cards are both from the Hello December 2015 Kit .[/caption] I'll post a review once I get the photobooks, but I'm so happy that it's...

Playing lots of catch-up on my 2015 Project Life album. I'm still working on November and hoping to be done within the next week or so. Watching a little too much cartoons and not enough for me. It's a bit harder now that Violet doesn't nap anymore  and she stays up a bit later so that Dominique can fall asleep first before she goes to bed. Hoping to figure out something soon Cooking a couple more meals inspired by Pinterest this coming week. Crossing my fingers that they turn out. Drinking way too much caffeine lately. But it's my friend..... Knitting the first square of the 2016 GAL Blanket: Mario Kart ! Loving that I'm getting back into my morning routine of getting up at least an hour earlier than the girls for some quiet morning time to myself. Also helps that Keith is up that early, so it gives me some motivation. Hating early mornings. It a love/hate relationship. Discovering Enjoying hearing Dominique talk more. I think we're up to 30 wor...

I'm a bit behind in posting the last pages of December Daily, so I'll make it short and brief. Christmas Day in the morning was spent here at home, opening gifts with the kids and just having some laid back time. The afternoon/evening was spent at Keith's Dad's place with the rest of the family. I kept it the same style as Day 24, just switched around. it really works with all the notes and photos from the day.

Hello Week 01 of my 2016 Project Life album! I'm starting off my album with my 101 in 1001 list that I posted a couple days ago. As the week only starts on a Friday and would maybe take 1 page, I thought I'd take the first page and list my 101 list there. It was pretty simple to set up. I just took my list, figured out how many goals I can fit onto one 4x6 card, change the background colour, and voilà! Done and complete. And it also helps me have a record of the goals that I want to have accomplished. As the year(s) go on, I do have an idea of how I'm going to mark off what I've done, but it's not quite set in stone yet. And here's the actual week 1: This week was pretty simple to put together. It also helped that the 1st was on a Friday, so I only had 3 days to document. I chose my favourite 3 photos over those couple days, paired it with some journalling and filler cards (again, all from the Project 52 Kit) and found the "Love this" over at A Vegas ...

Hello 2016 Project Life !! This is my 4th year doing this project (I started in 2012) and I'm still in love with it. Yes I'm still catching up on my 2015 album, but I really do love it! This year I'm decided to exclusively use the Project Life App , and mainly using the Project 52 Kit this year. I would like to stick to one kit this year and I like the look and versatility of this one. For my Title Page, I went with the family photos that we took back in November and the rest of the cards are from the Project 52 Kit. On the "Hi" card, I wrote down the year and our corresponding ages that we would be this year. It was pretty simple to put together, and I'm pretty happy with it!

Knitting  a Star Trek GAL while I wait for the 2016 blanket to be released this Sunday *squeal!!* Playing Little Big Planet with Violet on the PS3. She absolutely loves it. It helps with her hand-eye coordination and gives us some playing time together when Dominique is sleeping. Trying to get used to wearing my new FitBit Flex. I bought it with my Christmas money on New Year`s Eve and seeing how it will work out for me. Cooking not so much these days. With Keith home more during the last few months, I haven`t had to cook as much. Drinking lots of tea right now. I just stocked up on tea from Teavana and can`t wait to dive into some new teas! Loving that Dominique is talking more (yes, no, please, thank you, mommy, daddy, nana (Violet), cookie, crackers, juice, water). There `s probably more, but that`s all I can think of right now. Hating that I have to work New Year`s Day. Every year I`m at work, they either stick me with New Year`s Eve or New Year`s Day. Which means I als...