a bit of erskine life.

We are an odd bunch...here is some proof.

(this is a card that i made for my brothers birthday. he is an avid star wars fan and i'm quite proud of this creation!)

(surprise wedding shower for christina)

(best $4 i've ever spent)

(best $3 my sister has ever spent)

(best thing we could find in my mothers basement)

a proud parent. again.

I had another 'proud parent' moment this morning as I was giving the kids their breakfast. This one, just like the previous one, is a bit odd and may sound confusing coming from a 'christian' mother...but it made the corners of my mouth turn up and even warranted a phone call to James. As I put Rhys' toast in front of his growling tummy he chirped-up and said that he was in the mood for some music. Thinking that this would be a good opportunity to dust off some of his Cd's and play some headache inducing toddler sing-a-longs, I pulled a "God Rocks" CD off of the shelf and reluctantly asked Rhys if that was what he wanted to listen to. He scrunched-up his face, thought for a minute and said, "NO. I want to listen to Dad's songs. I like Dad's songs." So I happily placed "God Rocks" back on the shelf and pulled out a Tom Waits album and asked if he wanted to listen to this one. He enthusiastically said, "Yes" and began bopping his head around with 'Singapore' playing in the background. I was so happy. SO. HAPPY. I know that I will be cast some glances of disapproval over this proud moment; I should weed-out all things non-Christian (and thus devil-worshipping), I should hook-up some sort of brainwashing Veggie Tales marathon reminiscent of Clockwork Orange, and I should walk around my house forcing the kids to memorize scripture which focuses on the blessings we will receive when we are in the lords favor. I should. But let's get real here people; Jesus would have hung out with Tom Waits and we all know it.

spring in my step.

My sister showed up at my house a few days ago with some cute flats for moi! You've just gotta love sisters who impulse buy and have great taste. I absolutely adore the shoes, but there's just one problem...IT'S STILL WINTER! AAAHHHH! I've been waiting and waiting and waiting for warmer weather so I can switch my wardrobe and enjoy life again but it seems the gods are being cruel this year. Each year I seem to forget how long our winters are (maybe it's self-preservation) and each year I have a bitter reminder of it as we continue to experience sub-zero weather well into March. Why do people live here? It's depressing to think that we've been, for the most part, stuck inside our stale homes for 5 months with no sign of it letting-up. Did you know that my 'living space' doubles when the weather in nice enough to be out in the yard?? And that's not even taking into account the numerous parks and places to visit by my house. I can't wait for the day that I can actually push a stroller down the sidewalk without fearing for my child's safety. No wonder people try with all their might to leave Manitoba in January and February.
This fall I casually mentioned to my mother that I would be perfectly content this winter if I had a STACK of gardening magazines to tide me over until our next growing season. Sure enough, my mother pulled through and provided me with hours of green-thumb reading. I've spent many an afternoon/night/bath time reading through the colourful pages, excitedly planning my garden. So many flowers to look at, so many growing techniques to learn about. I'm so ready for winter to be over and for springtime to coming roaring around the corner with it's new life and visible change. Colour! I need some powerful springtime colour!

scattered week.

This post is going to be horribly scattered, just like this week has been scattered and just like my mind in scattered. All scatter-brained. Anyways, on Monday I spent the majority of the day on the phone with what seemed like everyone in Winnipeg, trying to find different things I could get Rhys involved in. Rhys has one friend (his cousin Caden) and that's a problem, he needs to make some friends and be socialized. So after calling around for the majority of the day I found out about a drop-in Gymnastics For Toddlers class that's offered at the YMCA by my house. We took Rhys to the class that night watched him loose his mind with excitement. I can't recall him ever being inside of a gym before, so you could imagine how incredibly overwhelmed a toddler might get on their first visit (especially when you throw 20 other toddlers in the mix). I also found out about a Playgroup that meets two times a week at the Elementary School that Rhys will be attending. We went to both meetings this week and I must admit to feeling a sense of relief wash over me as I observed my children finally playing with a bunch of other kids. I'm actually feeling optimistic about the programs my community offers for preschoolers and am hoping to continue to take Rhys to Gymnastics and the Playgroup. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted. I know that I sound like a silly paranoid mom, but this was something that was becoming worrisome for both James and myself. Rhys has taken to calling his stuffed animals his 'friends' and plays with his imaginary 'jousting-friends' too often. I had no idea that my community offers so much stuff geared towards his age group.
I've also been spending a bunch of time outside the house since my mom is in Texas and I have her car for the month. Can I just say...I NEED A CAR! I haven't had cabin fever once while I've had the vehicle in my possession. Wonderful. AND, I've been working on a secret little project. I will leave you with one of the pictures from it. Enjoy.