THE STONES

BuSy, BuSy, BuSy!

2011-06-16T19:00:00.000-07:00

What a BuSy week! Between the kids and I getting sick, family being in town and all the projects we've been trying to get done, we just haven't stopped for a second this past week!

Here's a few projects we've done...

we power-raked the lawn, then realized we had to rake up all the dead grass...

Which really, really sucked! This is just one side of the house, not including the back yard and other side!

Then after garage sale'n a couple weeks ago I came home with a couple great finds. I found this cute little person sized rocking chair. I wish I had remembered to take a before picture, it was not so cute 'before'. It was brown and chipped and had the most awful red plastic material that was in rough shape. Darren thought I was crazy for spending $10 (or anything for that matter). But when I was finished he said 'WoW! Didn't see that one coming!'

I just love it now and so does Lucas! He sits in it all the time.

I also bought this really cute old coffee table for $2. It was in perfect shape, just need to be refinished! So a little left over house paint and presto chango! I just love the pretty curves and the two tones. Now if only my couches were as cute....

And yes, I know there is more important things!

2011-06-03T20:24:00.000-07:00

Than crafting? NEVER!

Except maybe my children.

Let me introduce you.

My name is Lucas.

I love Cars and Toy Story and mommy's cookies!

If I could be outside or in water, 24/7, I would be in heaven.

I like to color, make messes and whine for no reason.

I am my daddy's little helper, just give me a shovel.

I go to sleep in my own big boy bed and giggle with glee.

I am not a normal child because I love bed time!

I like to eat fries and ceasar salad and vanilla pudding.

I have a toy in both hands at all times and take them with me everywhere.

Usually cars or a Buzz or a Woody.

I can go pee and poop on the potty, but only if mommy takes me.

She's potty trained for me.

I'm just not ready to tell her yet.

Because I don't speak.

Ok, I say a few words, but most of them aren't English.

I do love my mammy(Nanny) and MumMum(Grandma) though.

That much I can say.

Hi, my name is Brooklynn.

I like to drool and throw up and go through 3 pairs of clothes a day.

Only because I know my mom secretly loves doing laundry.

I eat all day long.

Except when I'm sleeping.

Or pooping.

And at least I can hold my own bottle.

I'm rolling a lot now, every-which-way!

I'm so very soft and cuddly.

Mommy and Daddy are always hugging me too tight!

My eyelashes are just so long...

People are always talking about them.

I like to chew on things, especially my brothers toys.

Just give me your attention and I won't disappoint.

I've got tons of smiles and coo's just for you!

And can you say, Addiction?

2011-06-03T20:07:00.001-07:00

My name is Niki and I'm addicted to wreaths.

I have one for just about any occasion you can think of, plus 10.

Ok, so its not like its going to kill me or anything, right?

I just think my door looks naked without one.

At all times.

I just had to show everyone this one I made yesterday.

You'll notice the blue? Nice touch, I know!

$6 and 10 minutes later... I had this.

Isn't it fabulous!

No sooner had I finished it, did I realize I had to make another!

This one, is a little slower going...

Yes, thats pinto beans.

Yes, they are from our food storage.

No, we will probably never eat them.

Waste not, want not. Right?

When all is said and done, I will spray paint it shiny white.

It will look like snake skin.

I might add some fabric flowers and a bow.

It will also be fabulous.

Yes, this is an addiction.

No, I'm not giving it up.

And TAADAA! A 'quilted quilt!'

2011-06-03T19:52:00.001-07:00

Now, YES, I have made blankets and such before! But this is the first time I 'quilted' one all by myself! I've had people asking me to see my quilt and I thought it would be easiest to blog it. I love how it turned out, with the stars and all.

It's currently on my wall. And although I love it and am very proud of myself (mainly because it was scarier than you would think...I thought I was going to sew right through my hand!) I don't know that I will leave it on my wall for long. The colors are beautiful but just not on my green wall. It all sort of clashes with my decor.... :( So sad...

The good news is, now I get to make another one! I'll get to perfect my free motion skills and really find a pattern and the material that will go with my home! This material I originally bought for making an apron... Last minute I went with Barb to a sewing class which is where I got this pattern and learned how to 'quilt'! I needed something and so I used this.

I've already found about a million quilts I'd like to make and I'm sure I'll make one soon, so stay tuned to find out what it is...

And Blue! Who knew..

2011-05-31T17:38:00.000-07:00

So excited to finally reveal my finished and brand-spanking new entrance!!!

As someone with self-proclaimed OCD, I tend to fall in love with something (the color green) and stick to it. Like white on rice.

Don't get me wrong, I do like a multitude of colors, especially yellow and white. But Blue? Not so much. When I went to pick out the material for my bench pillows and curtain this caught my eye and i had to use it! I am extremely pleased with how it turned out. Very summery and bright. Of course there is still green and yellow but I think the blue is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!

It has now inspired me to use it more. I've been thinking of painting my pantry door with light blue chalkboard paint....No? Well too bad, its gonna be awesome and ya'll will be jealous!

And a Minnie Me!

2011-05-28T20:42:00.001-07:00

My mother always told me some day I'd get one. A little someone just like me that will give me what I deserve, for all the 'pain' and 'suffering' I put her through. haha

It's just my luck, what'dya know, she was right!

A little Thumb Sucking, Pink Loving, Always Smiling, Beautiful little girl, has come to bless our home!

So thank you mom for raising THIS little Thumb Sucking, Pink Loving, Always Smiling, Beautiful little girl, to be what I am today. A mother. Hopefully just like you.

and Voila! A new Bench!

2011-05-28T19:18:00.000-07:00

Let me tell you a story... of a Wife on a mission for something she just had to have... and a husband who loved her and wanted to give her everything she ever dreamed of... and how they lived happily ever after... Happy Wife, Happy life! Right?

A few weeks ago we were going through show homes, our favorite saturday past time. I love to go and get design ideas. This time I sure came up with a doosie! These beautiful homes in Qaurry Park all had these pretty little built in benches and I KNEW I just had to have one!

After a week of lovingly asking (I swear I don't nag), D finally gave in. But instead of the simple afternoon task I though it would be, take the closet doors off and build a little seat, he insisted if he was doing it he was 'doing it right!' Who does he think he is, Mike Holmes?

So another week of my house being turned upside down, walls being ripped out, tons of mudding, new tile laying, bench building, and painting... I finally have my new bench and holy crap, a whole new entrance!! In the end, it was all worth it.

Man, I just love my handy husband!

Lucas is going to be a big brother!

2010-04-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

THATS RIGHT FOLKS! We're having another baby! Doesn't feel like to long ago I was making this same announcement and now Lucas is almost 1 1/2. We are super duper excited though! We don't know exactly when the baby is due though, yet, but we'll let you know when we do! It's probably the end of November.

So the count down is on! We move in 11 days! We can hardly contain our excitement. It's been a long time coming. For everyone who doesn't know... We bought a house in Crossfield back in last December. The people we bought it from were moving to Ottawa after this school year and asked if they could rent it back from us. They have 7 kids and thought we'd be nice and let them stay. In the mean time we had already sold our Condo so we had to move in with my in-laws. They've been fantastic and we are SO greatful. BUT we can't wait to get back to normal life with our little family in our great big new house. I wish I had a picture to post for you all... Sorry. Maybe next time.

Darren also finished school last week! He went back to work this morning and he was so happy. It was funny. I never thought I'd see him so happy to go to work. lol I'm so proud of him though and how hard he worked for the past two months to get good grades. He had awful hours, from 11 to 6 every day, so we barely saw each other. I guess this is phase 1 of returning to normal life!

I ALSO just wanted to mention *becuase some people haven't been able to get to my Cakeblog for some reason* that I have one. haha Its at sweetstonecakery.blogspot.com

Its just pictures of all the different cakes I have been making. I love it so much and I am making it into a little business. If you need a cake or know someone who does, let them know about me. I'll do birthday or wedding and for good prices! I've also made a gadget on the side of my blog here with the blogsite.

The STONES

MMM Chocolate!

2010-04-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

So I've been really bad this past week. When I say bad I mean gaining 5 lbs. OK, not that bad, but still, I was out of control! haha I don't know what else I expected, it being Easter and all.

We had a great 4 day weekend though! On friday we went for a drive up to Bragg Creek and had ice cream. MMMM Then we went to dinner at Chili's. MMMM Then we watched a movie and had more treats. MMMM SO FUN!

These are just pictures of Lucas playing this weekend. He's the cutest kid ever!

Saturday we had Easter dinner at Darren's Grandparent's house. It was delicious as always and good to see his family. On Sunday we went up to my sisters and had an unconventional Easter dinner of Roast. haha But it was the best Roast Darren has ever had. ( Straight out of his mouth! Good complement eh Sheri?) It was just Sheri, Gary, Mom and I there with our families. Everyone else was out of town. We missed you guys!

We stayed the night at my mom's house and on Monday we worked ALL DAY helping her go through boxes and organize her basement. There is still a lot to do, but shouldn't take too much longer. YAY!

Recently my in-laws have bought new appliances. The are fantastic and I'm so excited for them. haha Lucas was helping Darren and his Dad put in the dishwasher last night! So cute! He was climbing all over them on the floor. In the mean time we were watching DUKE and BUTLER play!

Tired!

2010-03-26T11:20:00.000-07:00

This past couple of weeks have been busy, busy, busy!

Last week Darren's sister Pam (who lives in Saskatoon) was here visiting with her two children Madelynne and Noah. They are just the cutest little ones! Maddie and Lucas had soooo much fun playing together. They would run in circles around the house chasing each other. Their favorite thing to do was hide in the kitchen drapes and wait for someone to find them and tickle them. They would just giggle and giggle. It was so much fun to see them playing. We took some videos of them together but I can't get them on this computer. SORRY!

This week on Tuesday my mom came to Calgary and took me home with her. Lucas and I spent a few nights with her and she brought me home this morning. We helped her set up her new living room furniture. It was very nice! We also helped her start going through some boxes in her basement. Its going to be a lot of work to get through it all, but we sort of made a dent.

The first day I was there we had to take Lucas to the hospital. I was really really sick and just wouldn't stop crying. It turned out he had a bad ear infection and a cold and a yeast bum rash. He is also teething. The poor thing was in so much pain!! So we got him drugs and now he's doing SOOOO much better. He's back to normal and sleeping through the night. Good thing too, cause I was starting to go mad!

I'm pretty sure Darren missed us, so I figured it was time to come home. haha PLUS, I have my cake class tonight. I will take a picture of the wedding cake I'm making and try to put it on here for you all too see.

Go Alberta Go!

2010-03-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

This weekend was really busy! Friday night I had my Cake Decorating class. I did a cute little square cake with a purple bow and different color poka-dots. I didn't have enough time to finish it there so on saturday morning I finished it up. I would post a picture of it but my cameras' batteries are dead! Dianna took it yesterday to church for her lesson in Relief Society and everyone ate it up. (They all have diabetes so I hope I didn't kill anyone)When I got home though on friday Darren and I watched a movie with his parents. 2012. It was the most intense movie I've seen in forever. Extremely unbelievable, but still intense! haha

On saturday we helped my in-laws clean up their house. They had their huge table in the kitchen (that they are supposed to only use at Christmas time) still out. So Darren helped his dad take it apart and bring out their normal little table. It makes their kitchen seem waaaay bigger. Later on Darren and I went to get our hair cut! We went to his sister Tiff, she works downtown at a place called Fabu. She always does a really good job (and we get a discount cuz we're family). Darren wasn't actually planning on getting his haircut, so we had Lucas with us. The whole time he was running around and playing in hair. He looked like a puppy afterwards. ewww it was really gross. Darren looked all handsome after of course. I however don't know how I feel about my hair yet. It's fine a guess, its just taking some getting used too. She cut a good 5 or 6 inches off, that was badly needed. She also made me quite a bit blonder. Then I told her I missed having bangs, so she just went for it! lol Now this I can post a picture of (its nothing special)

Yesterday everyone went up to see my mom give a talk at her ward. Before hand she came to me and said "You're blonde! You look like my Niki again!" I don't know who I looked like before, but I'm glad she recognizes me now. lol jk

Anyhow, my mom gave a wonderful talk reporting on her mission. It was very emotional for us all and I'm sure it was very hard for her, but it was really really good. She even bore her testimony in a different language. I can't remember what it was called. But she has the accent down!

Afterwards we all went back to her house for lunch and it was great for everyone to spend some time together talking and having fun. When Lucas first saw Brynley he walked right up to her so they were face to face and just stared. haha It was so cute. They hadn't seen eachother all week, which is unusual for them. My cousins were there and all my siblings except Mike & Megan cuz they couldn't make it up from Lethbridge. We had Fajitas and they were delicious!!! I was quite bad yesterday! When we got home I had cornbread. It was well worth the million calories!

We also watched the Briar last night and Alberta won! Yeah thats right you Ontario-ans! Alberta rules!!! haha

With that happy thought, everyone go have a good week!

Already?!!

2010-03-11T14:01:00.000-08:00

So I'm already getting harassed about putting up pictures. I cannot believe you people! Just kidding. All I have to use are what is on my in-laws computer. BUT we did have family pictures taken just after Christmas with them so I thought I could put up some of those to tie you over.

This one was just a candid shot of Dianna walking with Lucas.

He was very unhappy becuase there where puppies walking by that he couldn't have.

Look at the beautiful couple!!!

It was soooo cold that day and Darren took Lucas's touque off!

I couldn't believe it. If I was freezing, he had to be.

This is the whole Stone family!

It doesn't seem like a lot of people but it really is!

This is Lucas with all his cousins and Grandma and Grandpa!

I think he was just upset becuase Grandma was holding someone else...

Gosh! I can't believe it!

2010-03-11T09:26:00.001-08:00

Okay... so maybe I can. I'm not the most diligent when it comes to this stuff. It's been almost 2 whole years since I last made a post on this thing and holy cow have things changed! After reading through all my old posts I just got so emotional. I can't believe that little picture of a baby we didn't know has turned into such a cute little boy! The past year has been crazy and surreal to say the least.

So whats new with us you ask? WELL... Where do I begin?

Lucas, I suppose. He is the axis the world pivots on is he not? He just had his 15 month birthday and he's out of control! Okay, not really. He is all over the place and loves to talk my ear off but he's such a joy. I wouldn't trade the time I get to spend with him for anything. Lately he's been having trouble sleeping. If he didn't sleep through the night last night I was going to put him on Craigs list today and give him to the highest bidder! I thought he would do quite well for us; if I didn't mention the being up all night and just showed them a picture of how cute he is. BUT lucky for him, he slept through the night! I've figured its becuase he was only having one nap a day opposed to two naps a day and was just so overtired! So with some experimenting (forcing him to have a nap in the morning) I've got him to work like a charm! Darren questioned my approach, but I sure showed him!

So next there is Darren and I... right now we are back with my in-laws. Yes.. I know... that is why Lucas isn't sleeping well... he knows that grandma is right across the hall and will come get him if he cries loud enough. haha We are only here until May 1 when we get to move into our new house!!!!!!! We are so excited! (Incase you didn't notice from all the exclamation points) It's a wonderful big house in Crossfield. We are around the corner and down the street from Kent and Jeff. (We aren't too concerned with this, we know how lazy they are. HAHA jk) We already own the house but it worked out for us that the old owners wanted to rent it back while the guy finished his schooling this year.

AND Darren is also in school right now for 2 months doing his 1st year for his Apprenticeship. He's doing amazingly well and he's having tons of fun. But I know that he cannot wait to get back to work. The hours are crazy (11 am - 6 pm) and he wants to get back to his normal routine (6 am - 3 pm). I kind of don't blame him becuase right now he's gone all day every day and we miss him dearly...

Once we get into our house we are going to do some minor renos. We have to remove wall paper and paint, etc. Once that is all done it's back to work for me. Or sort of... I am going to be opening a Dayhome. It's win win for me becuase I still get to be with Lucas and I'll be bringing in an income too. I recently finished school to get my Level 1 Childcare Certificate. It was every Saturday for months.. and months... Man it seemed to last forever. Anyhow, I'm done now!

I've also been taking Cake decorating courses and have finished 2 Certificates. I'm working on my 3rd and have one more to go. I absolutley love it and think I have found my calling in life. If you know anyone who needs a cake, you tell them to call me! haha

Back to Lucas. He LOVES water. If he hears a tap he comes running, he has a water radar! The shower, the kitchen sink.. sprinklers.. waterfall... he can hear them from hundreds of miles away and starts screaming! He especially loves to go swimming so I've been thinking about starting him in swimming lessons. He also always wants to be outside now that its getting warmer. His Auntie Annie showed him last week what a trampoline was (bless her) and now he stands at the back door crying to go on it. Every time someone opens a door he starts waving bye-bye and bolts for it!

His first 'words' I guess you could say, (I consider it his first word becuase its the first sound he's made that he associates with a corresponding action. He still doesn't get who is 'Dada' or 'Mama') So he was sitting in his high chair and had a big spoon. It fell on the floor and he looked down at it. Then with the cutest little fishy face he looked at me and said 'UH OH!' It was soooo cute! I just want to squeeze him!

So that is all for now. I can make no promises on when there will be an update but hold tight. It will come eventually!

Slooooowly going crazy!

2008-10-16T08:31:00.000-07:00

I'm just finishing my 31st week and am so tired. I love being pregnant, more than I ever thought I would. It's fun to have 'someone' with me all the time, just being innocent, kicking away, hurting my organs, making me have to pee... I just can't wait to see him and what he looks like. Darren is getting more and more excited too and at the same time more and more freaked out. Life is going to change a lot for us. Time, it seems, has just slowed right down, now that we are excited to have him here. Before, when we were freaked out, it was just flying by! Only 8 more weeks, which is really not that long!

We started taking prenatal classess about 3 weeks ago. They are really good and Darren is enjoying them a lot. They have also made me realize that I cannot have this baby. I won't be able to handle the pain, but I won't be able to handle an epidural either... It's lose lose for me...

My parents left last weekend for Signapore and are gone for basically 2 years. They will miss our baby, Mike & Megans, and Jeff & Melanies. They left us behind their video camera though, so that we can make lots of videos and take lots of pictures to send to them. It's not the same thing, but its the best we can do. Since I'm not very diligent about updating our blog, I can't imagine I'll do better with sending them stuff. haha It'll be weird not having my mom around to help me figure things out with the baby, or to just generally be there to give grandparent love. Luckily Dianna and Robert are nearby and are willing to give double the support that we ARE going to need.

Other than that, we've just spent the summer running around from place to place. We went boating a lot and Darren found a new love for quading (4-wheeling as you Easterners like to say). There's been two baptisms and a baby blessing. Barb and Kent had their first little girl and she's beautiful! She'll be spoiled rotten. We also gave up our kitty Bobby. It was very emotional for Darren, he loved it so much! It was his little play buddy. I told him if he loved the cat so much, imagine how much he'll love his son. I think that was when he stopped pouting (he was milking it I think. I had to buy him a birthday cake and it wasn't his birthday!)

Surprise! Surprise!

2008-07-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

It's a Boy!

Darren is so excited and I'm so happy to see some enthusiasm from him. He's even picked out some baby clothes and said "awww look at how cute it is!" which is very unusual behavior from him. I'm happy too. I of course would have liked a girl, but I'll love it no matter how it comes out, as long as it does come out! haha

We had a full room at he ultrasound yesterday, my parents and Darren's parents were there. I think that the lady was a little overwhelmed, but she did a good job. It was a waaaay better experience this time. She told me what it was, before everyone else, which Darren wasn't too happy about. He'll get over it though. She said she only tells the mothers and we can tell everyone else. They had some weird rules there.

So little boy Stone is 11 oz, the lady said 'like a can of soup'. But he's really long, so he'll be tall and skinny like his daddy. It'll be weird having another little Darren running around, it's just a lot of energy for one little condo.

Moral of the story??? Niki gets to go shopping!!! I'm on my way to buy him a sailor suit! hahaha

Fun in the Sun!!

2008-07-02T14:15:00.000-07:00

I love the beach! We spent saturday at Midnapore lake, not much of a beach but it was nice and we had fun. Darren's brother was visiting from Saskatoon so it was great to see them. On the down side, I think we spend a little too much time in the 30* weather... We both burnt to a crisp! To make things worse, on Saturday night we went to a baseball game and were directly in the sun again! Its been 4 days and I'm still in pain. My boss was playing nurse on Monday and trying to help me put burn cream on my shoulders and back.. she had a good time laughing. I however did not. When I got home that day, Darren was freaking out from the pain and was jumping up and down in the shower. Now that was quite funny!!

The whole long weekend was quite eventful, with the burning and all. I had Monday morning off, and all of yesterday, so we went to a movie Monday night. We saw the Incredible Hulk. It was alright, but I hate Liv Tyler. She pretty much ruined it for me. Haha I guess it was worth seeing, but I recommend seeing it after you've seen Iron Man. It just makes more sense. At least for any avid movie goers, like ourselves. Man, we're losers! I blame it on my in-laws, yes, Robert and Dianna, that means you. You have an obsession and you dragged us into it.... Do you know how much money we've wasted on stale popcorn?

We've booked our ultrasound for July 21, to find out what our baby is! We are soooo excited! I think I've finally found a girl name that I really like, Darren hasn't said yay or nay yet. But if he gets whatever boy name hes wants, I get my girl name. And no we are not telling anyone what they are, becuase there is a lot of theifs out there. I'm not repeating the whole 'Cooper' incident, I'm quite bitter about that still. Haha Anyhow, you will all just have to stay tuned....

Baby Stone

2008-06-20T12:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we had an ultrasound done. It was so exciting to see that our baby is actually a baby already! It was just kicking like crazy at first and we were both in such shock we were laughing like crazy! When they measured the baby they told us that its bigger than they thought and i'm actually at least a week ahead so they estimated that on Monday I'll be 15 weeks. Which suits me just fine! That means no December 24th baby and we don't have to wait much longer to find out what it really is.

This is Darren's favorite picture. He says its going to be a boy with its long legs. He thinks it'll be a good basketball player. I say its just going to be a supermodel girl with long legs. haha

This is my favorite picture, becuase it looks like a real baby.

Games! Games! Games!

2008-06-16T14:38:00.000-07:00

This past weekend Darren wanted to go to an arcade and play games, so Kent and Barb and the boys and Jeff and Mel and their kids came along to the Ruckers by our place. We had tons of fun. There was a game where you have to stop a light at a certain time and we all put so many tokens into that thing trying to win, and the way it works is they accumulate and whoever wins gets all the tickets. Then up comes some random lady when we had all given up and won all of our tickets! When we were done they came back to our house and played LIFE and hung put until the guys hockey game that night. They lost again, but not becuase they didn't play hard. They are having a rough time with their goalies and badly need a new one! (I didn't say that)

On sunday, it was all about the games again. We went out to Crossfield for Father's day and played LIFE again. I killed Darren Jeff and Kent, they weren't to happy about that. We also ate some good ham. We didn't get home until late and I'm really paying for it today. I'm just pooped.

I've been feeling just as crappy as usual, and so has Darren. He's got this cough that will not go away. Luckily I havnt caught it, becuase I've got my own problems...like something growing in my stomach and sucking everything out of me! But on a positive note, on saturday when I went scrapbooking Darren was a good little boy and surprised me with a new stroller and carseat. It was so nice of him, it was exactly what I wanted (and what he had faught me over, the week before). I think he's finally getting a little bit excited... He even phoned me at work today and offered to start moving stuff around in the spare bedroom aka office aka new nursery aka guest room aka storage room. Its going to be a lot of work to sort that one out, but he's willing to start now so I'm very greatful!

Good news!

2008-06-03T12:19:00.000-07:00

We're having a baby! But everyone already knows that. I am 11 weeks and still feeling awful. I've been pretty sick, and so has Darren, but for other reasons. I told him they are just sympathy sicknesses. Either way we are so excited and can't wait until we can find out what it is. Darren wants a boy and I want a girl, but isn't that the way it always is? I just want to start shopping! haha

Darren has started his summer hockey and he's really excited. My brothers Kent and Jeff, and my cousins Darryl and Derrek are all on his team. They lost their first game, but they had never played together before, so we all understood. Hopefully they'll get better soon!