J'adore

... this stationery from Left & Write. 

spotted on tiny white daisies

The world map notecards come with little dots to stick on and show where you are. How cool is that? I'd send one to Em, but I don't have to! She is here {well, she's in Vancouver, so pretty darn close} and will be on the island tomorrow. Yay! Bring on the girl time!

Anyway, since Em doesn't need one of these cards at the moment,  I'd send them out to all of you instead. Because seriously... wouldn't a blogger meet-up be so much fun?

Flowers for your Friday

via a creative mint

Good morning! Happy Friday. I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to this weekend! Em is coming and we have so many fantastic plans! Lattes and pedicures and movies and brunch and shopping and did I mention the lattes? But before she gets here of course, I still have to: teach my grade ones {there will be a lot of red, pink and white crafting going on at school today, let me tell you!}, renew my car insurance {in all the excitement, must. not. forget!}, make up the bed in the spare room, buy all the ingredients for tasty breakfasts and other festive fare, complete the great big whole house clean-up project I started, finish buying/making Valentine treats for my three boys, and fit in at least two runs. And that's why I'm actually writing this post at 9:30 on Thursday night and not really on Friday morning. And it's why the second I hit "publish post", I'm going to bed. I need as much rest as I can get, and I'm going to have to use every spare second I've got to get everything done. It's going to be worth it, because it's going to be so great. I can't wait!

Happy Weekend ahead, my lovelies! I hope it's fabulous.

E xo

Welcome to my world

For Christmas, the boys got a pack of super-hero toothbrushes from their beloved Irish cousins. The idea was that each of them would get to choose two. But our boys are kind-hearted and generous, and they insisted that Alan and I each have one as well. 



Alan got Iron Man, Dylan got Wolverine, Sawyer got Spiderman, and me...?

I got the Incredible Hulk. That's right. I brush my teeth with a purple and green Incredible Hulk toothbrush.

I am soooo living in a house full of boys.

PS: When I was first given my fab new toothbrush, I grinned an evil grin and said, "Don't make me angry. You won't like me when I'm angry..." No one in my family got it, but you know what I'm talking about, don't you?!

Pleasant distractions

I am in the middle of some major cleaning up at the moment. The place is ripped apart as I sort things into piles: keep, toss, donate, put aside and come back to later... I am so not good at this sort of thing. It makes me feel anxious, all the mess around me. Panicky. I can't see the end in sight and I start to get all worked up and freaked out. It's part of my desire for things to be "just so." Unfortunately, I'm a procrastinator, so things often get put off until I can put them off no longer! And then it's just stressful, because not only am I working amidst piles of stuff, I'm also working to a deadline.

Anyway, a girl needs to take a break, no matter how close the deadline may be and I've been lucky today to have a few fun things to distract me when I needed to turn my back on the mess for a bit {it's okay... I've got three more days until everything has to be done, and though I have to work two of those days, and attend a super-long preschool meeting tonight... I'm sure it will all come together in the end! Right?}

Here are a few of the things that have distracted and cheered me as I've tackled my to-do list:

Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies {left over from last night's book club meeting} and a cup of tea

Valentines in progress {I love to watch Dylan with the glitter and glue!}

A great long letter from Kelly, and her local newspaper, too! 

A fun {and always beautifully wrapped} parcel from Cassie

... containing a gorgeous, handmade Valentine banner to string up above the fireplace! LOVE IT.

Oh, and this little blog of mine. It distracts me regularly!

Okay. Break's over. Now, back to work...

Tumblr Tuesday {love is in the air}

With Valentine's Day less than a week away, it seems only fitting that today's tumblr photo extravaganza be dedicated to the sweetest of holidays.

 Love this homemade banner, all the kiddie artwork and those two festive chairs!

 Antique books and a big cup of tea? Yes, please. {don't you just love an old book? I like to think about who has held it, what shelves it has sat on, who read it first...}

Cookies too pretty to eat. We're making heart-shaped sugar cookies on Thursday afternoon. Pretty sure they won't look like these!

 Aaah! I want all of this! Those boots {but in my size, of course}, that mail bag, that festive tea party!

 J'adore the button pillow. And those funky reading glasses.

 Garlands of paper hearts in the sunshine. Pretty much perfect!

I am so far behind in my Valentine making and writing this year. I hope I can get a few things in the mail by tomorrow and then fingers crossed that they fly just as fast as they can to their destinations! Are you making Valentine cards this year?

*All the photos above were taken from my tumblr archive. From there, click on each to find the original source.

Resolution 5/52

This past week, my goal was to listen to the CBC more often, and I totally did. I kept it tuned in on the car radio and listened to all sorts of interesting stuff as I ferried children back and forth to school and ran my usual million or so errands. I especially enjoyed Canada Reads 2011 yesterday {it's a series of debates in which 5 famous Canadians extoll the virtues of the book that they believe deserves the title of best Canadian book}. I hope The Birth House wins!

via tumblr

This week I'm going to keep my goal simple. Drink lots of water. I've been headachy and sick with a cold a lot lately, and I'm hoping that getting my 8 glasses a day will make a big difference. Currently I pretty much exclusively drink tea, and the only time I really drink water is when I'm on a run or at the gym. Not good enough, Erin! My friend Sheila {who is completely awesome and also happens to be Tupperware Lady extraordinaire} just gave me a really great water bottle. I'm going to fill it up each morning, at lunch and at supper, and I'm going to toss slices of lime in there to fancy it up a bit. 3 of these bottles a day should more than equal enough water to re-hydrate me, don't you think? I'll let you know how it goes.

How are your New Year's resolutions coming along? Have you abandoned them completely or are you still plugging away at them? I think mine are going quite well. I like having one goal a week to work on, and adding it on to the ones that came before. Makes me feel successful... And that's always a good thing.

Much Love Monday {at the end of the day}

It has been a long and difficult day. Everything got blown out of proportion and felt just awful. But now, just before bedtime {and just after sipping my second chai tea latte of the day}, I'm feeling better and want to focus on the positive things that made it good.

And so, without further ado, a few things I'm loving on this blustery Monday night:

• A friend of mine sent me a message this morning to say how much she loves my blog, that it's always so positive and inspirational... Wow. 
• The boys have a clean, tidy bedroom, all re-organized this weekend with new, colourful floor mats... they spent a good half hour this morning putting all the letters in alphabetical order and placing the right dinosaur on the right letter {"Brachiosaurus starts with B, Sawyer!"}

kindergarten kid, ready for school in his shiny, clean bedroom

• Book club is at my house tomorrow night. I'm going to bake a tasty treat to serve up to all the ladies while we discuss Water for Elephants {or perhaps I should serve some sort of circus-themed food, like cotton candy?}
• The kitchen table is covered in paper doilies, pink glitter and lots of red construction paper, which can only mean one thing... it's almost Valentine's Day!
• Dylan and I ran into my mom at the mall... "Mum! I just recognized Gramma over there!" he shouted. "This is such a lucky day!" Agreed.
• Em flies into Vancouver tomorrow, and she'll be here in Victoria on the weekend... can't wait to see my very best friend again
• We've just discovered Portlandia and it is hilarious
• Today, in the school parking lot, a friend of mine walked up and gave me a hug for no reason at all... somehow she knew it was just what I needed

It's too late to write about resolutions tonight {I'd be breaking the early-to-bed goal if I did}, but I'll be back with that tomorrow. And a bunch of beautiful tumblr photos for your viewing pleasure, too.

Until then! Good-night.

E xo

T is for triceratops