Just Call Me Twilight

As a blogger, there is one end of year activity I like to participate in.  Well, this is my first year as a blogger, but as a reader of many other blogs, I have participated in this activity over the last few years.  So, really, this is my first year participating as a blogger, but my third year in general.  Did you follow that?  I'm not sure I did. Anyways, the new year is almost upon us and it is time to pick a new word of the year.  Let me give you a bit of background on this.  I don't know about you, but I do not make, nor believe in, resolutions.  They, in theory, are great.  You make a list of improvements you would like to make.  Some of you out there that have great willpower, can hold out most, or some, of the year.  Me, a few days.  Then a few more days of guilt for my lack of willpower.  Then, it's forgotten until next year.  The Word of the Year is a bit of a different take on resolutions.  You pick a ...

2013 is coming to a close and this last month has been one of my family's busiest.  We are always so excited about the month of December, with its' hints of the fun promised - the real world "magic" we anticipate seeing in our children's faces.  But the downside of the month of December is that we sometimes forget to slow down and truly enjoy those moments.  Sometimes its' due to the sheer number of activities we attempt to shove into 31 short days; sometimes its' because, as adults, we forget to look for that magic, forget to close our eyes and just savour the gentle hums of the Christmas music.  But if we are lucky enough to remember the happiness of this season, we are blessed with picture moments worthy of sharing.  Here are a few, just for you. Oldest Daughter once again danced as a beautiful ballerina.  I never tire of watching her dance.  Is she the most graceful?  No.  Does s...

Today is Youngest Daughter's second birthday.  At this age, she doesn't understand what having a birthday means, but she does recognise that Oldest Daughter thinks it's a big deal.  As she is too young to fully enjoy this day as her special day, today's post is going to be a little different.  I am going to memorialise her birthday, by talking about me. After Oldest Daughter was born, we had absolutely no intention of having any more children.  We had waited thirteen years for Oldest Daughter to come along and we were content with our one perfect child.  "One and Done" was the phrase we uttered any time anyone asked us if we were trying for another. But the universe had other plans for our little family.  When I found out I was pregnant again, it threw me for a loop.  And by loop I mean that I felt like a freight train had run me over.  Over and over and over for about three months.  That is how...

We have a new Christmas family tradition.  I can say that now as this is the second year in a row we have done this.  And we have had so much fun doing it the past two years, that we are already looking forward to doing it again next year! Williams, Arizona hosts The Polar Express.  We bundle the kiddos up in warm footie pyjamas and ride a train to the North Pole.  Along the way, we drink hot chocolate (really it's just lukewarm for the kiddos, but still tasty), eat giant cookies, hear the Polar Express story read to us by Liam Neeson (no kidding!), sing loads of Christmas songs and meet Santa who gives us a bell from his reindeers harness.     It is a magical time for The Littles.  The minute they hear that Santa is somewhere on the train, they can hardly contain themselves.  After every Christmas song we sang, Youngest Daughter would say "again, again", smile, dance and try to sing along to the next song.  Now tha...

My family boasts of many that have served in the military. My Dad They have served in the Army, the Navy, the Marines, the Women's Auxiliary Army Corp. and the National Guards. My Cousin Chris Over many generations. My Grandfather George They have all had experiences that have shaped their futures and coloured their past. My Cousin Greg (far right) Those experiences helped shape them into different people.  Better people.  Sometimes sadder people. My Great Uncle Edward These pictures that I am sharing with you only represent a small number of my family members that have served. My Grandma Josephine (far right) - Women's Auxiliary Army Corps. I am so proud of them and their service to our country. As I am of all those service men and women who have given of their time and had to deal with the consequences that that service sometimes entails.  I am also proud of those left behind - the family members that must...

Source unknown Today, I am bringing to you another bathroom.  I am obsessed with bathrooms right now.  I am longing to re-do both the guest/Littles bathroom as well as the Master Bath.  I have so many bathroom rehab ideas running through my head that sometimes it keeps me up at night.  Yep, really.  Welcome to my world!  But, I haven't started on any plans for change as of yet because we are heading into birthday and holiday seasons.  Too expensive a time to be making other expensive changes.  So I wait.... Anywhoo, this again is a very simple bathroom.  Has everything you could possibly need.  Two sinks.  Storage under the sinks.  Fancy mirrors.  Claw foot tub.  Natural light.  A chair to keep your naked butt off of the floor.  A fireplace - what???  Well, you may not NEED a fireplace in your bathroom, but wouldn't it be a nice addition?  Totally excessive, but also totally romantic....

I have loved the weather we have been experiencing the last few days!  80's, slight breeze, cool enough to open all of the doors and windows, yet not cool enough to break out the long sleeves full-time.  Youngest Daughter and I have spent as much time as possible enjoying the weather, while also enjoying the backyard.  Over the last few days, Youngest Daughter has taught me that anything you can play with inside, you can play with outside as well.  Today, she thought it would be fun to lug the bag of building blocks outside and assemble things on the grass. Wasn't exactly a sturdy platform to make works of art with oversized building blocks, but it worked for us.  As you can see from this picture, we also have the stroller out there and a hula hoop.  It was a busy morning!!  When we were tired of the blocks, we laid back on the grass and looked up through the trees.  Youngest Daughter pointed out every plane, bird o...

Halloween - what a fun holiday for the kiddoes!  I can honestly say that I am not a big Halloween fan.  But I do want to be a part of fun memories for the Littles, so I suck it up and we decorate, make pretty costumes and eat lots of candy.  Thursday night was fun.  Friday - not so much.  Friday was one of the rare mornings that I was actually happy to send Oldest Daughter off to school.  The child was grumpy.  We didn't get to bed much later than we normally do, but the excitement of Halloween, I'm sure, wore on through the night, causing a restless sleep.  This is one of the rare mornings, as well, that I felt sympathy for Oldest Daughters' kindergarten teacher. Halloween morning started out well.  As Oldest Daughter could not wear her costume to school (not allowed by the school), both of my girls wore Halloween inspired shirts.  Thank you Grandma Karen! Donning these shirts started the day on a giddy...

I love nesting trays.  I do not have a lot of room for them in my home, but I have been wanting to add a few to help corral clutter.  So I started hunting.  I knew the look, the size and the price I wanted to pay - then I came to the hard part - finding my ideal.  Every store I went into, I searched them out.  They were either the wrong size, the wrong colours/designs or just way too expensive.  So, after quite a few disappointments, I decided to try my hand at making my own.  Well, not making my own (how handy do you think I am??) , just customising one to my specifications. I purchased unfinished nesting trays here .  They come in a set of three (large-medium-small), which allowed me to test out (otherwise known as  - make my mistakes) what I wanted to do with the smallest one, then perfect it in the other two.  I also got two pieces of scrapbook paper from the same place.  I first started ...

Source Unknown Autumn is here!!  The mornings are a bit nippy, as well as the evenings.  The afternoons here in Arizona have unfortunately been in the 90's.  The house has gotten so warm that I have had to turn the air conditioning back on.  That was a sad moment for me.  But I just know that the cooler weather is going to be gracing us soon.  Until then, this fireplace and sitting area are going to have to tide me over.  I love a rock fireplace.  This one looks like it has warmed generations of families.  The long sofa invites you to stretch out, cuddled in the throw.  I love the old tiled floor as well as the simplicity of the room.  Sigh - I just know that cooler weather is coming.....JCMT

In my perfect world, I would be able to clean the house every other week.  Well, that's not true.  In my perfect world, I would have a maid that would clean every week.  But, neither perfect world scenarios ring true, so I must keep plugging along.  I really do try to stick to the every-other-week cleaning schedule, but appointments, sickness, children or just life keep sidetracking me. So, I do what I can, when I can and I refuse to beat myself up for anything more or less.  This week, I knew I had to clean the house.  But I also looked at our weekly calendar and realised that that was a lofty goal.  What I did see were small pockets of time every day.  Enough time for me to clean one room.  So that's what I did.  Every day this week, I cleaned just one room.  Yes, you are right, this does make for a super long cleaning schedule, but at least I am accomplishing something. Today I had the largest pocket o...

  What a beautiful day it has been so far!  The weather is nippy in the morning, and warm in the afternoon.  If the weather was like this more often, I might actually like living in Arizona!!!  Youngest Daughter and I have made it to the gym, then spent the remainder of the morning outside, playing with plants.  I couldn't ask for a better day.  Here's wishing you a fantastic day and week!  JCMT

As what seems to be the case lately, this post is not exactly about a room.  Or a space.  It is a phenomenon that we don't seem to have here in Arizona, but can be found adorning barns in southern states.  I just love the little punch of creativity that livens up an otherwise drab exterior. Source Unknown   Source Unknown     via via   They are called barn quilts.  They are painted quilt squares fashioned on boards and then mounted on a barn.  The design can be as varied as any true quilt.  It can have family meaning, crop meaning, or just be a fabulous design.  The rule of thumb is that they should not be mounted on any structure that is under 50 years old.  What a fascinating design idea!  JCMT