Cloudy with a chance of.. seeing a really great movie!

Last night my husband and I decided to be really good parents and take #3 to see Cloudy with a Chance of meatballs. Those of you with teenagers and younger kids know that often the little ones lose out  as we race around with the schedules of the older children. 
We started off with our own dinner of Penne and meatballs-yummy homemade turkey ones. I adapted the recipe from  the Williams Sonoma Family Meals cookbook by Maria Helm Sinskey(I highly recommend this one by the way).  We invited the older boys to join us but #1 was off to see "Jennifers Body" or more specifically Meghan Fox. #2 decided to have a friend over instead. He's 13 and would have loved the movie but  thinks he's too cool for such things!
CloudyWithAChanceOf Meatballs.com-Check it out!

When we got to the theatre the only show available was the 3D version. Ugh! Bill  and I both hate 3D and associate it with headaches and a slightly  ill feeling. Oh well, since the next non 3 D show wasn't until 9 pm we decided to just suck it up. #3 was thrilled, he kept telling us how awesome 3D is.
 Wow am I ever glad we did. 3D has come a long way! The effects were fantastic. What a great movie-I highly recommend it, especially the 3D version.  During the previews they showed a trailer for the new Scrooge movie(animated) with Jim Carrey. It will also be available in 3D and from the preview looks like it will be amazing!
Well off to start the weekend. I can describe my plans in one word :Hockey. Although I love the sport, it seems too early in the season...I want summer back or at least some quiet days to enjoy the fall weather!

Enjoy the weekend.    

Fall in the Garden!

Just a few pictures to share with you of the early fall changes in the garden. Lots of work to be done! My hostas are begging to be divided and I need to edge and weed pretty much everything but I try to also have some quiet moments reading or just playing with the dog. The work will never be done and before you know it this garden will be full of snow!

Back to school!

Well as usual I'm a little late on this one, they've actually been back one week as of today! I love the fall, it really is the actual New Year. A fresh start, so much promise to the year, many good intentions etc... Even though the schedule of hockey, rugby,school and music events is filllng up, in September it all seems possible. By February that same schedule will seem daunting and I will be at my wits end, but not in September! In September we can do it all! I've always been the kind of gal who loves the smell of fresh school supplies and organizing everything. My oldest boys(16 and 13) do not have this gene but my youngest, like me loves to organize his things and shop for supplies. The older boys are more than happy to have me do it for them and of course I am more than happy to oblige!
 My oldest  was a link leader  this year so he headed off to school very early on the first day to help welcome Grade 9 students to high school. He wasn't in the official back to school  pictures this year but I did sneak one of him on his way out the door. Looking at the picture from a few years ago it's hard to believe they have grown up so much...time goes so quickly!

The Crooked Shed....it really exists.

In case you were wondering there actually is a crooked shed. Our "garage" is original to the house(just shy of 100 years old) It's the real deal with dirt floors, lovely old beamed ceiling, heavy original doors and windows. Sound charming? Well in reality it can be a pain the dirt floors are messy and there is a red squirrel which occasionally tries to claim it as his own (our cat Tommy keeps him in line most of the time!) and he is not shy to scream at us whenever we go in there.

I know my lovely husband often wishes he had a brand-spanking new attached garage like "normal people"! A few years ago we noticed it starting to lean a bit and after every winter it seems to shift a little bit more. 

Now to be fair maybe I should  also call our house the crooked cottage because let's just say you can't really play marbles on some of our floors-there is a bit of a lean there too, but at least you can't see it from the outside!

We should pull it down, we could build a lovely"old looking " shed that would be sooo much more practical but  the thing is....I kinda love that shed. I love the way the vines grow all over it. I love the way the Hydrangeas and black eyed Susans look up against it. I actually can't imagine my garden without it. I know one day it will come down and I'll miss it but I plan to keep every door and window so that lovely  new garage my husband pictures.... it will be full to the rafters with "junk" from the crooked shed!!

Hot and Steamy!!

No I'm not talking about the weather or the book I'm reading. I am talking about my newest toys! I've  noticed all of the new steam cleaning gadgets that have been appearing over the last year or so and was really curious about whether they actually worked. I like the idea, I mean steam means hot and of course the hotter the water the cleaner things are right? Environmentally I liked the idea of using less harsh chemicals too. I took myself off to Bed,Bath and Beyond with a coupon in hand and checked out their selection. I ended up buying two! The first is the H2O mop and it is used for cleaning floors and carpets and the second was the monster which comes with a small hose and various nozzles and brushes to attach to it. More for cleaning those grungy baseboard corners. Even though it was late I couldn't resist trying them both out and I was thrilled with the performance of both. We have mainly hardwood and tile-very little carpet and the H20 did a beautiful job cleaning. The monster was just that a monster-I felt like our powder room had not been so clean in a long time(you know boys and toilets..YUCK!)  Even my skeptical hubby was eyeing the  monster  and imagining how clean his grill could be! I think the biggest surprise of all was the H20 on carpet.  I felt like the little "glider" that came with it was probably a bit of a scam, but it really freshened up the kitchen mats nicely.  I apologize for the picture-lighting is not the best at night! I can't believe how much earlier the sun is going down..summer almost over.  

Here we go!

well after hemming and hawing for the last 6 months I decided to just do it! I look forward to sharing some great flea market finds, quick tips(I am the queen of the shortcut) and whatever else inspires me! I am a busy wife and stay at home mom of 3 boys who loves to decorate(on a budget) cook, clean(yes I actually like to clean) and keep up with our almost 100year old suburban cottage with whom I have a love/hate relationship!.

This past weekend we went on our annual camping trip. It was supposed to rain ALL weekend but we got off easy with only a few showers. Despite grey skies and cool temperatures we were thrilled! Every year I dread camping..the packing, the bugs, the backache and of course the laundry! Once I get there I always have a great time and the kids love it(even if they complain I know they are loving it!) I try to keep all of our camp supplies in a few rubbermaid boxes so that it's really easy to pull it out of the basement storage room and just go! Of course we still have to try and actually fit all of our supplies into the truck..that may be the toughest job of all!