Tidbits. Mostly me whining, but sometimes it is necessary.

* Yesterday was a PA Day. My kids fought all day.
* They also wanted me to watch them bounce balls, ride scooters, draw, colour,  buy them expensive shoes, dance, exercise and go sledding when all I wanted to do was go to bed.
* I am in the midst of the winter blues.
* Jersey the dog was a bad boy. We have to make some difficult decisions.
* I miss my Daddy.
* I sliced my finger with a knife the other day.
* And then again yesterday.
* A new cat or two has showed up in our barn. We think one might be Blackie who went missing over a year ago.
* And the other one looks like the baby daddy to the many kittens birthed in our barn.
* I purchased Project Life stuff so I can start a new beginning in how I "scrapbook" our memories.
* I think my happy pills need to be increased.
* Lets have a group hug. Tell me everything is going to be OK.


This a Duke the horse.
He enjoys rolling in the snow.
And eating.
And smelling Cindy the girl horse's bum.

Favourite Photos of 2013. We spell "favourite" with a "u" here in Canada.

OK, I am not going to lie, but getting back into this blogging thing is kinda like...ummm...hard.
I mean, what do I write about?
What do people want to read?
How can I stay authentic to myself while making everyone happy?
The stress is creating zits and pimples on my middle age face.

*snort*

That is hilarious because I always have zits on my face.
Just breathing causes my skin to break out, but whatever.
Maybe one day I will talk about zits....
....and poop....
....and maybe other gross bodily functions because that stuff is hilarious.

But today I am sharing my favourite photos of 2013.
Just because.

Sooooooo I went through the few thousand photos I took last year and picked out my very favourite from each month.
It was hard.
Not because all my photos were wonderful, but because each photo reminded me of the exact moment I took it.
Each moment=my life.
I cherish the moments/people/animals/memories even if some of them were horrible.
I don't care what anyone says.
There is nothing I treasure more than my photo,s and,  if you're one of those people who takes a picture and never prints it, shame on you.  One day you will regret it and so will those younger than you who want to know all about the moments in your life.
Deep thoughts.
You're welcome.

So here goes.....

Jersey the Dog.
Still alive after his many health and behavioural issues.
Actually, I think this photo was taken before the memorable corgi attack at the pet store.

My baby girl who still looked like my baby.
Something happened throughout the rest of the year.
She grew up.
*sniff*

Saying goodbye to my Daddy's beloved motorcycle with a gazillion photos.
"Biker Bob" as he was known in his biking circle of friends, loved this bike and had many plans for his retirement with this beauty and his Biker Babe {aka my Mommy}.
Enough about that because it makes me sad.

A moment between my oldest boy child and Duke the horse.
I remember this exact moment and the joy he felt as he led Duke up and down the driveway all by himself.

Middle child.
He is handsome.

My baby brother became a Daddy.
I fell in love with my niece.

My son with his 97 year old Great Grandfather.
The Great Grandfather who still packages up cookies and candy for the kids every time they visit.
The Great Grandfather who loves his Great Grandchildren more than anything. My kids only living Grandfather.

My life in one picture.

The first day of school.
There were no tears. There was no stress. Only excitement about the year ahead.
My heart was happy.....because they were.

We have a patch of trees out in the horse pasture that I love alot.
One day I plan on having a pretty sitting area there so I can sit with my girly drink and bon bons and just hang out with the equines.

Disneyworld.
Just making more memories.
This memory included some moans and groans and "Mom, you're taking too many pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

This is my niece whom I fell in love with in June.
In December, I loved her even more.

And, just because I like to change things up once in awhile, I am throwing in one more photo.
I tagged along on my hubby's business trip to Alberta and fell in love with the province.

Dear Lake Louise.
You're pretty.
But cold.
I would've stayed longer if I wore better shoes.
And wasn't afraid of bears eating me.
Love Vikki
Happy 2014!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli

Here for a good time.....not a long time.....

Sooooo.....things are still busy.
Like so busy I go the whole day without peeing.
So busy my garden looks like a weed garden.
This past weekend was the boys lacrosse championship weekend and we watched 8 games. 8 GAMES in a hot arena with sweaty tweens and waytoocompetitive parents.
Then there was soccer and dog training, a sick kid, the final week of school and a huge award for one of my kids.

I have so much to tell you.....when I have more time.

For now, lets share in some random crap.  I enjoy random crap.

1. Last year we brought a large piece of driftwood home from my family's lake shore property and plopped it into a large planter/garden thingy in front of our garage. This year, these beautiful violets have grown in front of it. We didn't plant them. This makes me happy.

True story. These are the healthiest flowers currently growing on our property. The other flowers I did plant.
Whatever.


2. Ike the horse did this. He is trouble.


3. My newest niece was born on June 20. She is perfection. It makes me very emotional just thinking about this little beauty because my little brother is a daddy. The kid who used to eat all of the cookies and steal the remote control from me now has a daughter. My brother is a daddy and his daddy isn't here to witness it.
Or maybe he can see everything and we just have to make sure his newest grandchild knows all about him. *sniff*


4. Jersey the dog might be starting a raw diet soon. Who would have thunk we would end up feeding our dominant/high prey drive/brilliantyetsobad dog raw chicken parts??!!!!!
Dear Jersey. Don't attack little animals, but go ahead and eat this raw animal meat.


5. These two offspring of mine fight constantly. It boggles my mind how two people who share very similar personalities can fight one minute and then play together the next like nothing happened.
This is them kicking grass because apparently that is fun to them.

Only 9 weeks until school starts............   *Prize for the person who knows who sings the song of the title of this post

5 Years Old

5 years old lover of messy faces and dirty fingernails
lover of messy hair
lover of cutting hair to "make it look more pwitty".

fruit eater
milk drinker
broccoli lover peanut butter addict

outdoors lover
trampoline jumper
singer
dancer
fashion diva

reader
artist
story writer
...and teller

independent
stubborn
brilliant
social butterfly

unicorn obsessed
Sofia the First obsessed
Barbie....Disney Princess...
and Doc McStuffins obsessed

"OH MY GOSH" sayer
lover of independent play
imaginative imagination owner
nose picker
dandelion picker

problem solver
joke teller
cuddler
burper
tooter
swinger

5 years old

Dear Time
Please slow down.

Hosted by Cecily and Lolli  

A Mid Week Wagon Ride

Poor Ike and Duke have been neglected lately.
Aside from being fed, a few rubs on the nose, "Hello's" in the morning and bringing them inside at night, the poor beasts haven't been doing much "work".

So they were quite excited to go for some mid-week exercise.
They enjoy it.
Honest.


Many people think that horses don't enjoy pulling wagons/sleighs etc, but, now that I am an equine expert, I am absotootly sure that that isn't true.
At least when it comes to Ike and Duke.
They love it.
I think they love it because they get so much attention.
From us.
The kids.
The neighbours.
The cars driving by.
The kids playing outside of their homes.
The dogs sitting outside their homes.


I mean, really.
Not everyone gets to see such beautiful {happy} creatures trotting by through their neighbourhood.


Especially when there are cats and a German Shepherd dog along for the ride.


My life is a freak show.

A Letter to Jersey the dog

Dear Jersey
Due to the recent event that we like to call "The Corgi Attack", we have taken extreme measures to get you trained properly.
Obviously the previous training facility had no idea how to teach {smart, protective, dominant} you, so we have found someone else.
The Drill Sergeant.

That's not her real name of course, but she knows her stuff and, well,{kinda} scares you because she doesnt put up with your dominant behaviour, which is good.........
....because then you listen, and learn....and hopefully stop attacking corgis.

Hmph.


No, that is not a muzzle. It is called a "halti" or something like that.

Winter Wonderland

I enjoyed winter for about 2 hours the other day.
Snow had fallen during the night and we awoke to a wonderland.
I had just enough time to walk around the property capturing beauty before it melted and looked gross again.

Mother Nature and I have a love-hate relationship.

How I feel.........

“A lot of people like snow. I find it to be an unnecessary freezing of water.”
― Carl Reiner

I couldn't have said it better myself.
The only way I enjoy frozen water is in my drink, thank you very much.

Go here for more.

Ike and Duke are currently.....

...very fuzzy due to winter weather
...enjoying the cooler weather
without flies...
and other bugs.
...constantly searching for grass to eat
...not kicking Jersey the dog because Jersey stays far away {thank goodness}
...guarding the property from coyotes
and other creatures.
...cute as everAs cute as 2000+ pound horses can be anyways.

What We Do in Canada.......

Apparently I am becoming a person who used to blog.
Don't cry.
I am still alive.
Just a tad busy and overwhelmed with everything I need to get done.

My basement is a write-off.
We bought a new filing cabinet last January and it still sits empty.
My photo albums are way behind. My recipes are scattered throughout my kitchen. We need groceries.
I have two recently spayed barn cats living in a cage in my basement temporarily.
I own three children.
And a dog who is determined to send me to the crazy house.

But.......we went sledding.
It was fun.
And my back still hurts.