My Creatively Random Life

A throwback to Toronto Comicon this year, I don`t think I ever posted this picture anywhere. 

This is a prayer for a blueberry girl . . .  A much-loved baby grows into a young woman: brave, adventurous, and lucky. Exploring, traveling, bathed in sunshine, surrounded by the wonders of the world. What every new parent or parent-to-be dreams of for her child, what every girl dreams of for herself. Let me go places that we've never been, trust and delight in her youth.  Nationally bestselling author Neil Gaiman wrote Blueberry Girl for a friend who was about to become the mother of a little girl. Here, he and beloved illustrator Charles Vess turn this deeply personal wish for a new daughter into a book that celebrates the glory of growing up: a perfect gift for girls embarking on all the journeys of life, for their parents, and for everyone who loves them. Give her all these and a little bit more, gifts for a blueberry girl.  Cat picked this booked out at the library and even after reading it twice she felt no real love for it.  Apparent...

The end of the school year is once again upon us and I have become overwhelmed with tiny pieces of classroom art. This year though Cat and I have struck a deal.  Every piece I share on here I get to recycle.  So once a week I will share a piece of this year's classroom work and it will find a new home that is not in my house. This is a friendship heart and it talks about her teacher, whose favourite drink is coffee.  (mine too).

Throwback to taking Cat to see Mickey's Rockin Roadhouse.  Taking her to see her next musical next month.

Celebrate the Small Things is hosted by  Lexa Cain  along with wonderful co- hosts  Writing Off The Edge  and  The Cyborg Mom . Life has been so busy lately that blogging has taken a huge back burner in my life.  I have learned a lot about moving though, mostly that I hate it and anyone who does it with children and does have a nervous breakdown has all my respect. This week I am celebrating that Ace is having a fantastic summer away with his Uncle.  If you follow us on  Instagram  then you've been able to follow along with some of their adventures. The other thing that I'm celebrating is that our one-on-one time with Cat while her brother is away is not getting lost in the shuffle of the move.  We've gotten to enjoy all sorts of fun stuff so far, the water park, the beach, movie night. What are you celebrating this week?

Want your kids to learn about dreams? This is Bella. Bella is a six-year-old cat. She likes to dream. She dreams about sailing, traveling, and more. Come join Bella and his dreams with this fun and informative, colorful e-book. This beginner reader’s e-book will inspire young ones to learn about cats and dreams while hearing or reading an engaging story. Children will enjoy full-color illustrations of Bella and his dreams. Young readers will: 1. Learn facts about dreams 2. Be curious and ask questions 3. Tell you about their dreams 4. Enjoy a book about cats This is a sweet children's book written primarily for children ages four to eight years old. Targeting beginner readers, the book contains simple text and colorful illustrations. Each page also includes educational information about dreams.The story is suitable to be read out loud to preschoolers or as a self-read book for beginner readers. Bonus: Black and white images to print out and color. Parents:...

Celebrate the Small Things is hosted by  Lexa Cain  along with wonderful co- hosts  Writing Off The Edge  and  The Cyborg Mom . I have a big celebration this week, my baby turns six!  It's so hard to believe that she has grown up so fast.  :(  It seems like just yesterday she was a tiny baby and now she's getting ready to graduate senior kindergarten. Check out what everyone else is celebrating today:

Such a sweet little bundle of joy, I can't believe she's going to be six in just a few days.

Another one of the little one when she was a bitty little thing.  I can't believe how fast she is growing.

With Cat's birthday coming up in a few weeks I thought I would throw up a few post to celebrate how much she has grown.  What a cutie eh?

When mice turn 100 years old (in mouse-years, of course) they get to visit the Queen of England.  When Charlie journeys across they countryside for his grandmother's visit he discovers that even little creatures can have big adventures.  Charlie's adventure with his grandparent's was super fun to join him on, it was well written and engaging. Cat and I loved the illustrations, we have not had a lot of luck with e-books for Cat lately so this one was a refreshing delight.  Among our favourites were Percy and the Queen, so fantastic. Cat is a huge fan of tea parties of all kinds so immediately following this book we had to have our own tea party with the Queen.  (even though we are nowhere near 100 yet)  I am a big fan of any book that makes the kids want to stay in any part of that world after it is read.  (that's after all how I was inspired) This book can be found on Amazon  here .   I received a copy of this book...

You may or may not know this but I love my e-readers with a great passion.  They are not books and they will never be books but they hold a very large space in my heart because they are quite portable and they can hold so much information in such a small space. My children, especially Cat, do not feel the same way.  She loves the feeling of a book in her hands to poke at and turn the pages.  To flip back and forwards.  It has to be a pretty interesting story or have great art or something to catch her attention and hold it all the way through in an e-book and this one didn't make the cut. That being said, it is a well done, simple book for beginning readers.  It was right at her level and she only needed help with one or two words of what she went through. I loved the activities and the word list because I am big on reinforcing what they have learned in what we just read and it's easier when the book lays it out for me.  ;) I received a copy o...

There's nothing I love more than seeing my kids get along and in the weeks leading up to Christmas they are always on their best behavior as much as they can be because Santa is watching.  They don't quite look this innocent but it is close.

You may have noticed that we read a lot around here, it's just something that I have always done and luckily the kids have picked up on the habit. Ace likes to read very factual stuff, he's into learning something when he reads.  That's what makes it fun for him.  Which is more than wonderful. Cat's more like her mom though, she like her reading to be full of fluff and wonder.  Dragons, princess and fairies have free reign over most of her half of their bookshelf.   This book hit both categories for them though, it was apparently informative (or at least interesting enough) for Ace as he stopped what he was doing to come join us and it kept Cat interested the whole time.  Which is not always an easy task with e-books, there's something about the e-reader that doesn't do it for her. You can find the book on Amazon at  Terry Treetop Saves The Dolphin . I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using  T...

The day we brought her home, what a sweet little angel she was.

With all the trouble they have caused me lately it's good to look back and remember when they were sweet and talked back a lot less.

Cat has finally ventured away from the Scooby Doo books and into something a little more interesting.  Robert Munsch has long been a favourite author in our house so it was much to my surprise that she brought home one that not only did we not own but we haven't read at all yet. The Sandcastle Contest is a super fun, silly book and Cat and I both loved it.  My favourite part was the prize for the sandcastle contest.  How many times in your life can you win a bathtub full of ice cream?  Cat's favourite part was, of course, the sand dog.  She would like things to work like that in real life so that we could have all the fun of a pet without all of the work. All in all we give The Sandcastle Contest two thumbs up.  b41f2aeab8cda0332dfb472a4ba706fc435ac9c7c008ab305b

For her second library pick Cat picked another Scooby Doo book and it was not as big of a hit as the first one.  Scooby Doo! and the Opera Ogre has all the right things to be a great book.  Cat and I both lost interest very quickly though because the story started to drag very fast.  How may times can you have Shaggy and Scooby dress up in a costume and get chased exactly before it gets old hat? The concept was cute but we are hoping the next book she brings home holds her interest better.

Little Miss Diva has been extra demanding this week so I had a lot of fun looking back to pictures of a time before she was as up in your face.  It reminds me of how fast time goes by and that no matter how frustrating she is being I need to take a deep breath and snuggle her close because she will be all grown up before I know it.   I wish I could reach back in time and squish those little toddler cheeks.

When I look at Cat now I have trouble remembering when she was this small, it just won't connect in my mind with where she is now.  She's just growing up way too fast. This picture is from the Santa Claus parade a few years ago.