Fresh Fall Stroll

We have had AMAZINGLY warm weather here in Manitoba over the last couple of days! I thought our Indian summer was a long lost cause... but it's here, it's here!!! All four of us have been thoroughly enjoying the warmth, the fresh air and sunshine!

Lately, at the utter mention of a walk, Alia is putting her shoes on and making a B-line for the door!

We're pretty excited to be outside, can ya tell?!?

Since we live in a super small community, and since it's the middle of the day, and since traffic is NOT even a hint of an issue, Alia can just waltz along with the stroller (and her sister who happens to be IN the stroller!) down the middle of the road!


See there she is... Hi, Larren! Wave to Mommy!

We had to stop for some pics along the way, of course!


Here we are at Auntie Betty's house enjoying the leaves... and the stones... and the mulch... and the bugs... and the...


And here we are just milliseconds before Larren...

upchucked the 3/4 of a box of Cheerios that she ate for afternoon snack.

Which ended our lovely fall stroll in a fast hurry. A very fast hurry!

Cheerio Delight

Larren is now beginning the finger food stage. And wowsers... she's jumping in with both feet! Cheerios would be her menu choice for every - single - meal! It's ridiculous!

Baby Dee Dee

Alia is in LOVE with her doll Dee Dee. She's never really been a huge "baby person" (again... like her mama in more ways than one!) but this week Dee Dee is the center of attention!

I was observing her the other day, and had to laugh! Alia was simply trying to "get out of the house" and low and behold - life happened!

Dee Dee looks happy now... but things can change in an instant!

Baby is already making a fuss, so she gets covered up with a blanket and "sshhh sshhh"ed a few times!

And now we have to figure out how to carry ALL our bags, with a crying baby in the background.

Drastic times call for drastic measures!

UGH, another bag... how in the world does ONE baby require so much stuff?

And now baby needs a bottle. Put down all the bags, locate the bottle, and feed Dee Dee.

Baby is fed, and now we're back to gathering all the things we need for the day... here, hold this Dee Dee!


Oh, and I almost forgot this and this.

And lookee there, we have a few extra inches of space... FILL 'ER UP!


Sadly enough, by the time Alia got out of "the house" she was in tears... literally. Her bags kept falling off the stroller and her sister came and snatched up a bit of her cargo... it was just too much.

It was fun to see her randition of "mommy" though a bit saddening at times! Let's face it... some days it's better to just stay put!!

Girly Mega Blocks

Our toys go through cycles of interest for Alia... each having their time to shine, then patiently waiting until their next big break.

This week mega blocks are in the spotlight, once again.

Here's our little "barn builder" in action. That's what this is by the way... a barn!



And whatever Alia likes... Larren likes!




But Larren's need to lick all of Alia's favorite toys doesn't slow Alia down. She just says "Ear (translation: Here) Lar Bear"... then quickly switches toys with Larren to get the piece her barn is missing.


And I have to say, for now, their play method is working out quite nicely!

If There's Something Broken At Our House

then Alia's classic line is "Daddy Whil Fwix It When Ne Dets Ome"... while nodding her head up and down, reassuringly! Doesn't matter what it is. Daddy will fix it... no question in her mind!

Well, her camera was jammed the other day and this time I wanted to show her that Mommy can fix things now and then, too!

See that credit card that somehow made it's way into the photo slot? That's a problem!


I got out my screwdriver and tried taking the camera apart, but the screwdriver was too short to reach all of the screws. (And I didn't feel like walking out to the garage to get one of the hundreds of screwdrivers that Jonathan owns... this is my own personal one that resides in my desk!!)

So out came my Leatherman (which also resides in my desk!) and we pried out the credit card in no time flat!


And life was happy once again in the Kreiser house.


Although, my one time fix hasn't made a lasting impact on Alia, for some reason. Daddy is still Mr. Fix It around here and I just don't think that will ever change!!

5 Minutes to Sit Down

I was gone all weekend at the women's retreat (which was FABULOUS!) and came back to a wonderfully clean home and happy, excited children!

Then somehow Monday morning blew up with two tired and cranky girls, a crabby mama, a SUPER cluttered house, a huge box of tomatoes BEGGING to be canned, 3 loads of laundry waiting to be folded, and guests coming over for dinner.

At Women Living Well (see the button on the right side of my blog) Courtney's challenge for today was setting the mood of our homes... which I NEEDED to hear so much right about now!

I owe my girls an apology and my husband a HUGE hug!

Thankfully the girls are napping, the tomatoes have been transformed into spaghetti sauce and are in the canner, the laundry is folded and put away with another load ready to be washed, and our guests are coming over after dinner for homemade pretzel making and desserts instead.

Our afternoon is looking a little brighter! I have had 5 minutes to be reminded of why I do what I do... so despite a crazy long to do list - the girls and I need to do a little dancing in the kitchen before daddy gets home!

24 hours

Tonight I will be waving good bye and heading out the door to a local women's retreat!! I'm excited for fellowship... refreshment... hearing stories of how God has worked in other women's lives... carrying JUST a purse... eating a "healthy" portion of yummy cheesecake... sitting at the Father's feet... and having a little break from the every day norm. All this, and SO MUCH MORE, in a little over 24 hour period.

But let me tell you... those 24 hours will ripple for weeks and months to come!

Nothing Is Off Limits...

... in Larren's mind, at least. EVERYTHING goes straight into the mouth. So when her sister leaves one of her kitchen toys behind, she's going to take FULL advantage of it!


I took away her object of affection... can you tell?

"Can I plleeeaaasseee have it back!?"

Those little pearly whites, that you see there, might have something to do with it!



A day in the life of a babe!


*I was trying out some settings on my camera... thus the reason for the b/w. And I must say... I will be using this setting more. When there's no time for editing, other measures must be taken!*

My Big Girl... Becoming a Big Girl

It feels like Alia is growing up right before my eyes.

- She's been potty trained for a few months.
- Her vocabulary is expanding like CRAZY!
- She can almost completely dress herself.
- She is starting to take on household responsibilities.

Where did the time go?

Well yesterday, I tucked her in for nap... gave her a big smooch... and went downstairs. I peeked in awhile later and found these on her night stand.

I must have forgotten to take out her pony tail elastic and clip... so she took them out on her own.

And for some reason... I had a "my little girl isn't little anymore" moment.

I'm reminded to savor the day, savor my girls, and savor God's goodness on not only a daily, but HOURLY basis!

Our Yard... Or Lack There Of

Before we left for the summer we had at least 20-25 loads of dirt dropped off at our place... to be honest, we lost count after like load 15! We've been planning to have dirt hauled in for about a year or two, but it just never seemed to be a top priority! But I'm so glad we waited... we finally got the dirt delivered - FOR FREE!! (A complete blessing!)

While we were away our friend moved and leveled the dirt, and now it's our turn to take over the landscaping project! The "yard" is in need of a good harrowing and grass seed... but no sooner than the ground dries out, it rains again! Over and over and over again!

So... here's the current state of our yard




Back home they need rain, and here we just need it to stop...


Visions of luscious green grass are dancing in my head... but Old Man Winter might have another game plan! And his game plan usually has a way of winning... until spring anyhow!

My Baby Girl

and her FULL personality!

Purple Potatoes...

... OH MY!
Jon went to help some friends pick potatoes last weekend and came home with an interesting variety... to say the least!
They look somewhat normal on the outside... just a little dark.

But goodness, the purpleness is starting to shine through upon peeling them!


Cut 'em up... throw 'em in a pot...

and they still make YUMMY mashed potatoes!

But I can't say they look too appealing, eh?! Brown and purple just aren't the most tantalizing combination.
Whoever put peanut butter and jelly together were quite the risk takers!