The Showroom

So long...

Yes it has been so long I have logged into typepad that I could not even remember my password! How sad is that. This blog is dying and I am really thinking about shutting it down. Maybe start another with a different format.

Anyway, busy crazy here....Yeah yeah who said studying was a piece of cake??? Another 2 weeks before my end of year review. And then what? You ask.... Well another 2 years!!!!!! Sigh.... I now need to specialize and I still hesitate between illustrative and documentary portraits....

Oh and why do we all need to cram all activities in the last 3 weeks of school?? Poor kids are so tired, I have to shake them every morning. So yesterday they were all in bed at 6:30 and 5 mns later, all sound asleep.

They are all well. Maxim and Nathan have graduated from the Sunday ski training and are moving on to the Monday training, last stop before the racing team. At 7, it's quite an achievement. And as a ski bum, I'm very proud of course, lol. Not sure how we'll squeeze this in our weekly program. As a side note, at the selection training Sunday, Nathan - who is 3 kgs lighter than his brother - took a second in the slalom...Let me put it mildly: he was beaming when the time came out.

Here are a few photos.

Maxim with the first prize cup of his hockey tournament early this month. 6 matches, 6 wins and he was the top scorer!!!

The boys ready to go fishing with DH

Over 2 weeks we are celebrating their birthdays. For the first time, we will have 2 parties (please send some sympathetic thoughts my way!!!). They are turning 8. Yes hard to believe but so true. True 8 years old.

Spring break..

is always welcome! Kids were tired and Nathan got a bronchitis that lasted about 2 weeks...To be fit just in time for school, again. We shipped the kids to my mum in France, nothing like a blue sky every day and the sun kissing everybody's skin to feel good and alive again. This year, everyone's rhythm is going at a too fast pace and I think that a good review is in order during the summer vacation to revisit the week program.

Anyway, I had so many shoots planned these 2 weeks, that DH and I brought the kids to France for a week and a half. Coming back after 2 days there where summer is already in full gear, the quietness nearly killed me. It was just too weird for words. I did get tons done though and it was worth it. They also loved it there, totally, 100%. Thank you MUM!!!!

I took tons of pictures too with my good old TTV...

So here are the kiddos...

Just to celebrate spring...

Sun is finally here...brrrrrrrrr..,still too cold though.

 

Bake..

They love to bake...Read they love to eat what's left on the baking spoons, in the baking bowls etc..rather than having the little cakes all cooked, finished and pretty. But would that ever matter? We just spent a fun 20 mns together, giggling like I was 4 too...I know...Fortunately no one witnessed this. DH and the boys were at a hockey match.

They came back 1 hour after we finished baking these little princess cakes (as she kept on calling them) and that hour must have felt like a month to her. She stood there on her chair, her glance going from the clock to the cakes, from the cakes to the clock. Can you imagine what torture she must have endured?

Finally it was time to enjoy it..Hum....them. She had 2! In like 5 mns....

 

My floors..

are very important in the life of my kids. Let me rephrase it, my kids have the bad habit of dropping everything just like everywhere in my house. My back hurts from picking up all-day-long everything and anything. Sometimes I wonder why they asked fat boys from Sinterklaas, or why we even bothered with chairs and sofas, they just much prefer sitting/lying on the floor... Please tell me it's not only here!!!

This is Manouk as soon as we got home from school...On the floor, after she served herself some sirop!!!!

   

Her way to hang her stuff - probably in fear of my: "not on the floor!!!!" I thought it was very funny and cute. She has a solution for everything this little one!

Glimpses..

of my little girl new room..I have been dying to share her room, newly redone, for ages but I am still waiting for curtains and they have been delayed fora month now. Which drives me nuts. The room is all done and I want these curtains so badly.

This project has been in the back of my mind forever and I swore that it would happen during my 4 week break in February. It did not look good in terms of planning but I am so happy we pulled it off. Manouk was just so so pleased when she went in, just her reaction was worth all the work. Squeals was all we heard for 10 mns.

So just a couple of pictures for now...I will share more when all is finished.

 

 

 

Meet us...

I am quite happy with my shape...Honnestly at my age and after 3 kids, who wouldn't??

I had enquired about these a while back but the waiting list was so long I had totally forgotten. A few weeks back I was contacted again to know if I still wanted my little family. I did and we came through the post yesterday. The kids were laughing discovering themselves, DH has not seen it yet and me....I'm very happy about us!

Your family can be found here.

   

Her request....

As she was walking through the door following hr brothers going school..She turned around and wawing at me she added: mama, can I have pancakes for lunch today? Big smile and off she goes...

She loves school and school loves her I think. And me, well I love that and I will bake pancakes for lunch...

 

 

Don't you love my vintage scale?

ArT.....

Check this...So cute...

ArT

Oh and the coasters have been big hit with my kids. Manouk wants her bag, Nathan his cactus and Maxim his pot. Everyone is happily drinking tea (well not Manouk..) with his/her own.

DH is skiing (Hi DH!) and it's `Sunday evening already. What happened to my w/e??? Between hockey, ski, birthday party, shopping etc...I forgot to ready my weekend magazines!!! No pb , everyone is back at school tomorrow..

Back to school..

For the kids, one week behind them already. And for me. As always, the first lesson always kinda gets me depressed. The number of assignments his second semester is almost not feasible...And as always  just I don't want feel like going back to this stress. In the past  weeks I slowly but surely went to more and more enjoying the full days I got to spend with the kids, the carefree hours spent in our favorite room: the kitchen. Long hours at the table drawing, crafting, drinking tea, sending little presents to people, singing. This will happen again obviously but not with the same intensity...Just because mama must go through 100's assignments.

So it is with mixed feelings that I went back Wednesday. But the kids they loved going back to school! Just LOVED it!! They were running to the door, hardly looking back on the first day...

I did not do much these 4 weeks. But I did 2 things that I wanted to do for a very long time:

1) Manouk's bedroom is as good as totally new. She basically inherited her borothers' bedroom 4 years ago and it was in such a poor state. It did not really cost us that much money considering the total make over we did. A mix of very nice stuff mixed with Ikea stuff. I am so happy with the results. And Manouk was just over the moon, she did a happy dance when she came in and could not stop. Will get some pictures but still waiting for the curtains to come in.

2) I had seen this idea for coasters on flickr and had wanted to try like forever. I took a few TTV pictures in the past weeks and thought that would be fun to try out with these (you'll recognise these pictures, they are on this blog). It was quite easy to do, unfortunately the cork was too thin. Although the results are ok, they are not perfect enough for a perfectionist like me lol. Maybe just maybe, I'll try again with better cork..