BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM!Piper started soccer last night, we are one of 18 pre-k teams in our County club. If you ask me, thats a heck of a lot of 4 year olds! Overall I think the club has 190+ recreational teams! once again, adding flourish

Mike signed up as assistant coach, but got assigned head coach because none of the other parents wanted the job. It's a pretty big commitment, lots of training and background checks etc.

First game is Saturday, I still don't have my camera but the little point and shoot will have to do.I WANNA BE A GOALIE!

It's a whole different kettle of fish compared to soccer when we were kids...there's no 'drills', no 'lining up', just lots of fun and an emphasis on the kids enjoying themselves. At this age, no team is pronounced 'winner', there are no goalies, just kids on a field with a ball going ballistic.

are you kidding? no goalies? I was BORN to be a goalie!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAISLEY!

Happy Birthday baby!

We had such a crazy day today that we really didn't get to celebrate in the style we'd like to...but since we are having a little get together on Friday with friends, and another next week with Nana & Papa, we'll be okay! Because of the two cakes she will be having in the next week, we opted for decorated cookies instead.

The sugar taking effect!

The things you find on old flash cards!I was formatting an old flash card to send off with the XT I just sold. Guess what was on the card...this uber-old photo of Piper circa Halloween 2006? She has the hat from the dogs costume on, a funkadelic witchy caost her Auntie Tracey sent her, and a whopper of a bite on her cheek. I almost forgot how awful that bite was, but the photos will always bear evidence I guess.

Nice look huh...I just want to know where the gold teeth are?

mine mine mineI called our local photo shop today and it's HERE! It's arrived! The new T1i is in stock and as soon as Mike gets home from PACT soccer training we are driving to town and trading in my old XT, as well as an old Nikon D60(film) camera for this new beauty. I'm hoping that I can get at least a few hundred dollars for the trade in. I've been saving for this camera for a few months and really cannot wait to bring it home to Mumma! I'd love to be a Nikon girl, but it's just not in my budget...I swoon at the shrpness of the D90 pics, but I am positive with some training I can get pretty close with my Canon!

It's good timing because I have taken a few short DSLR classes and will be taking a photoshop class tomorrow night, and of course I'm all signed up for the Pixel Fairy Princess workshop in June, and I'm in line for the RAWSII class sometime this summer.

Hopefully, by the end of the year I could be taking photos that I can be proud of. This is my new hobby, I've never really taken to anything before, but after three years of fiddling, I'm ready to get serious.

UPDATE: I went to the photo store and checked on the T1i..it seemed a bit flimsy, and after talking to the chap behind the counter, I decided what I really want is the 50D. I don't need the HD video, I have a flip, I just want a sturdy camera that will see me through the next few years! So...back to the drawing board and back to ebay so I can raise the extra cash needed for the 50D

p.s. I listed and sold my XT on ebay within 10 minutes for $100 more than the trade in value! I'm on my way to the 50D already!

"can't take you anywhere"How many times can you remember your parents saying that to you?

Obviously we are reaching that point with the Snowflowers. They aren't rude or naughty, but they are consummate comedians, always looking for the next laugh, the next joke, the next one-liner. Aaaaagh, now I know how my parents felt.

"look Mum, chippie tongue!"

forgive the blur, my little point & shoot is not doing well.

C is for cookieHonoring her internal Cookie Monster!

Paisley can handle her sugar just fine. She is not a sugarbooger like her big sister and can resist the urge most times to indulge. Her sister on the other hand has to be monitored, her sugar intake managed, or else...we have behaviour issues....BIG behaviour issues. That's why I took little P to the General Store last week to enjoy a fancy sugar cookie while her sis was at pre-school

Mine all mine bwaahahahaha!

Amazingly she ate the entire thing, uninterrupted, un-taunted, and without having to share. Somehow Paisley always ends up 'sharing' with Piper...it's not always voluntary either, so this was a nice change.Mummy had this delight...OMG...it had such an innocuous name 'pumpkin slice'...seriously...it was TO DIE FOR! Notice how the sunlight came through the window and lit up the delectable treat..as if GOD himself was blessing it!

D.D.D.DENTISTDr Dave is Pipers pediatric Dentist and I have to tell you he is AMAZING! Piper adores Dr Dave! Her hygenist Holly is also lovely, and does a wonderful job taking the fear out of dentistry.They refer to the children's charts as their 'stories' and do everything to make the experience an adventure. Piper did great at her cleaning, she brushes her teeth all by herself and the Dentist says she does a fantstic job. She was truly glowing when they told her that! She of course talked their ears off, even with her mouth opened wide. Dr Dave came up to me at the end and said

"how on earth did such a big personality get into such a tiny girl?"

How indeed Dr Dave, how indeed.

'nuff saidtwas a weekend filled with pain and anguish, and I'm not talking about my knee.

snap.crackle.pop

After two weeks of moderate discomfort in my right knee, I had the proverbial 'last straw' this morning when I knelt down to help Paisley onto the potty. I experienced such excruciating pain that I almost passed out on the floor...actually, I almost vomited then passed out! So...I took this as my body's way of saying....or more likely SCREAMING "call the Doctor Hayley!"

I walked out with a knee immobilizer on and the knowledge that my Doctor thinks I tore my meniscus...which will be confirmed by MRI next week. I'm praying that it's just a strain, sprain, knee fart or any other kind of knee injury that doesn't involve surgery! This is not good news, I can't drive, which means I cannot take Piper to school, gymnastics or clean the house...how will I get anything done.

Pray for knee fart, I am.

sweet as!

I'm feeling pretty good today...I searched on Craigslist and found some Flight of the Conchords tickets for Sunday's show! A-MAZING! Mike was absolutely thrilled! We cannot wait! The best part was that we bought them from a student at the U of M who had a conflicting gospel choir performance and we paid only $10 above ticket price AND they are ROCKING seats! These seats are getting $400+ online, so we feel really lucky!

That is...if we can find a babysitter!

NOI am faced with yet another school bus issue. Piper was due to go on a field trip in a couple of weeks, and as per our previous arrangement I had decided to go along as a parent helper, but also I would drive her in our car. Yesterday I was told I wouldn't be able to bring Paisley along as I have done in the past because the venue has a pretty strict 'numbers' policy and we would be exceeding that if siblings came along. Okay, I get that, but it leaves me in a difficult position. Piper cannot travel on a school bus per our commitment to her safety, and I don't have a babysitter for Paisley...so.....the only solution is to take Piper out of school for the day. She'll miss out on the field trip, but I will take her to the zoo instead. This sort of thing sucks.

If they could make school buses safer, I'd be a little more apt to let her ride, until then she has a chauffeur, me.

My not-so-wordless-Wednesday

EVERYDAY SHOULD BE EARTH DAY

Our planet is a masterpiece, and we are it's only bastions, yet we continue as a race to overwhelm her. Earth was not bestowed to us to slowly deplete and destroy but to cherish, to honor, to respect and in return we get to enjoy her vast beauty and abundance. Somehow I think we are missing the 'true' plan for this amazing blue panet. We need to rethink how we consume, how we manufacture, and how we dispose. REDUCE~REUSE~RECYCLE!

10 Things we can do together to help our planet

1. Consider your trash! We put out ONE small kitchen bag of trash a week, yep ONE and we are a family of four with a potty training daughter!

2. Use cloth bags when you go shopping..not just to the Supermarket..to each and every store you go to!

3. Buy locally grown and made products

4. Hang out your laundry whenever possible.

5. Use cloth diapers or even easier gDIAPERS

6. Plant a tree

7.Use a rain barrel and composter if possible

8. switch out your cleaning products and laundry soap for natural alternatives...I love Seventh Generation myself, but there are plenty of excellent alternatives that are kinder to the environment.

9. Consider a smaller or more efficient car/suv next time around. Honestly, the amount of giant GMC's toting 2 kids around is shameful!

10. watch the story of stuff and no, it's not left wing liberal propoganda, it's a slice of reality...oh wait, thats the same thing..my bad!

NICE MOUSE-TACHE KITTY

My Mum sent me one of those crazy emails with silly animals in it...I usually don't like them but I have to admit, this one brought a smile to my face...oui oui oui...zat ez a preeety kitty!

WE LOVE YO GABBA GABBA

It's retro chic. Lovin' the guest appearances...especially Jack Black and the Ting Tings! We love that they feature Indie bands and left of center acts like The Shins, Tony Hawk, Elijah Wood, etc...reminds me of something we'd have watched in the 70's. It's stinkin' cool, and love love love The Roots(Jimmy Fallon's late night band sings the theme song). We still vet everything the girls watch, and enjoy NiHao KaiLan, Olivia, and Charlie & Lola as well.

I'm actually going to attempt decorating a 'Brobee'(he's the green stripey guy) cake for Paisley's 2nd Birthday in a couple of weeks, watch out for that crazy disaster!

psychedelic slide

Plastic Fantastic I found a new playground 10 minutes from our house and I am STOKED! A friend of ours suggested we meet at this lakeside park so our kids could play...our local park is under construction and we have been driving around aimlessly looking for a new place to play for the past two weeks.

Now I'm a huge fan of the retro playgrounds with aqua dinosaurs, see-saws and faded metal slides...but this is the 'burbs people, we aren't going to find anything like that here! What I have been hoping to find is something that is interesting, has swings, climbing frames, tunnels...you know, the whole kit and kaboodle....and this is it! It's like a rainbow of plastic exploded on the shore of this lake, and with it's soft recycled rubber 'surface' it's a really safe place for the Snowflowers to run & play.

training for K2

and the true testament of a fun playtime is how dirty your feet get...I think this means the kids had a rocking good time...don't you?!

mmmmmmm...nice and grubby

I like it when the girls play hard...I wouldn't let them go barefoot in most places, but with the kickin' rubber surface and the 'safeness' of the park and area I felt it was okay to let them go at it like good little kiwi kids for a change!

SHIVER ME TIMBERS!

So fair enough, it's not the most politically correct time to play pirates, but the Snowflowers had an idea and I had to let them run with it. Piper of course is Captain, Paisley is relegated to deck hand come water girl. She doesn't care. Here they are protecting their boat aptly named

"A-PIR-RA-SHE"

It's amazing what fun two girls, ehem pirate girls can have on a couple of Adirondack chairs! No one will be boarding this vessel, at least the Captain is on guard! The deck hand was too busy swillin' rum.

Teabagger Alert

We don't just think you are buddy, we KNOW you are!

A few days ago there were copycat 'Boston Tea Parties' thrown around the country by angry Republicans...c'mon people, know your history...The Boston Tea Party was about taxation without representation...uhem, we have representation...it just happens that it isn't the kind you want, but the majority won so we get to live within the laws of this administration...this DEMOCRATIC administration in this DEMOCRATIC Nation. No faux-populist threat of revolution will change that! I find this really really really UNPATRIOTIC! Are you freaking kidding me? Are ALL these people protesting because they are upset that the wealthiest of wealthy in this country will have a 3% tax increase? Do they even realize that not one single American will have to pay higher taxes until 2011, and even then, it will be less than the top 5% of the population, ? Wow, I never knew Millionaires had such a big fan club! I can guarantee you that 99% of the protesters would not be adversely affected by the Obama tax modifications, in fact they will benefit...more fool them I guess.

Whether or not you are Republican, Democrat or Independent, common sense has to be applied here. Are these people suggesting NO taxes? That's anarchy! Surely they don't want that. I tell you what, why don't we round up a dozen of these folks in every city and town, trot them over to the local VA hospital and let them break the news to the brave men and women who served this nation that they don't support them...because that's what happens to our tax dollars...it pays to support our Veterans, to keep our roads and bridges safe, to educate all our children, to provide health care to those who cannot afford it and so on and so on and so on.

AND...if one more person calls this administration FASCIST, I'd at least like them to back it up with an educated analysis of fascism...I'm sure a great percentage have never turned the pages of a History book and hence have no understanding of this at all.

So I ask myself, why is the RIGHT so bent out of shape on this? Do they NOT support caring for our Veterans, the sick, elderly, the poor?

Go figure.

Can anyone tell me where to find one of these?

FOUND THEM HERE! WOOHOO!

"NO WAY"

Paisley is turning TWO in two weeks...and I have to admit it's like some cosmic timer has gone off in her cute little cerebrum an VOILA...she is trying on the 'terribles' with the same passion as Carrie Bradshaw at a sandal sale at Manolo Blahnik! Her favorite sentences right now are "I don't want to!" and "NO WAY"....ugh! For some reason she is especially scratched up at the moment...we have been calling the girls, 'Scratch' and 'Dent' for obvious reasons!

DONT LET THE CUTE FOOL YOU!

J.U.M.P. So last night I took the intro to DSLR 2 class at one of our local photo shops. I must say I learnt a lot in theory...putting it to practice is proving harder than I thought..I just need to practice practice practice.

This is a completely awful photo but I love the tshirts we got for the girls, you can order your own personalized tshirt at SANDBOX THREADS I just wish they had the words 'belligerent' 'willful' 'snarky' and 'devilish'

DEFCON 2 - miffedHonest to God...Paisley is saying this

"Mummyeeeeee, HELP me ride BIKE!"

p.s. She looks angrier in color!

"c'mon Mum, leave it out"

Okay, I'm employing my very best Cockney accent for this one...Paisley grew increasingly impatient with my photograph taking on the weekend. She wanted me in front of the lens, not behind it! She's getting far more assertive about letting us know what she does and does not enjoy. This photo was taken at DEFCON 1...bemused.

Easter Basket Brobee!The Easter Bunny left two baskets filled with all sorts of lovely confectionery, and a few little bits and bobs...this turned out to be Paisley's favorite...BROBEE from Yo Gabba Gabba, one of her favorite shows. We let them pick one piece of chocolate to have before breakfast...Paisley chose the chocolate bunny lollipop...as you can see, there was a struggle, but the bunny lost.

I will conquer fluro if it kills me!Piper's gymnastics class is in a HUGE warehouse with nasty nasty fluroscent lighting. I don't know how I will ever get a decent shot of her, since she is almost always a few hundred thousand feet away from the parent area...see.....she's waaaaay over there...can't see her...me neither!Maxing out the zoom capabilities and no tripod....yuck. Little Miss has really been enjoying gymnastics lately. I cannot believe how strong she is getting...her little calf and thigh muscles are crazy strong!Here she is against the other 4 year olds...the height difference is starting to be quite noticeable. Good to have a low center of gravity in the gym eh! backyard gymnastics with the big girls!

How many m&m's can a 4 year old fit in her mouth?

too many!

HANDSTAND 101

1. Place arms in air

2. point toe, move into lunge position

3.place hands squarely on ground

4. kick up legs

5. hold in straight position

6. add personal flourish