Kats Kanvas

Much Needed Make Over

2009-08-21T14:19:00.000-07:00

Before I visited the hair dresser...

After I visited the hair dresser, obviously!

Trip to Ottawa

2009-08-16T08:27:00.001-07:00

View from the car on the way to Ottawa

The road ahead

Cutting through the Canadian Shield

The Centennial Flame

Parliament Building (where all the goofs work)

Enterance to the Peace Tower

Unicorn Standing Guard (on left of the door, my right)

Lion Standing Guard (on Right of the door, my left)

Queen Victoria

Police & Peace Officer Memorial Wall Sign

Police & Peace Officer Memorial Wall

Of Flowers and Soccer

2009-07-10T10:50:00.000-07:00

View from the Park

2009-07-10T07:50:00.000-07:00

While walking the dogs, I just had to take a shot of the CN Tower

Some kind of bird on one of the many birdhouses that have been set up as part of the naturalization plan for the lakefront.

Another view of the Tower from the lakefront.

Dot's Birthday at the Mandarin

2009-06-27T19:59:00.000-07:00

For Dot's birthday we all piled into the van and headed to the Mandarin Buffet for lunch.

My three adorable (when they want to be) kids

The Birthday girl. Happy 13th Birthday.

Thumbs up for the food.

Why so glum, chum?

That's better.

Did she dip into my mojito? She seems to happy that her Coke is gone.

My Baby Brother.

The Hubby

EB and my Mom, why so serious? I have no clue

She had a great time.

Things I Saw on my Birthday

2009-05-10T16:34:00.000-07:00

A park in spring, lots of folks sitting around and enjoying the beautiful weather.

The CN Tower, I haven't gone up it in years but I'm thinking that this might be the year I take the kids up again.

For some reason I love this church, and I've never even been inside.

My drink at my birthday lunch with Hubby and Baby Bro, notice my sad little single piece of lemon.

Baby Bro's drink at my birthday lunch, notice his triple lemon slice. Both he and Hubby got multiple slices in their drinks, and all I ever got was one, and it was MY birthday!

Mal the Wonderpup

2009-05-02T11:53:00.000-07:00

Easter Eggs

2009-04-28T05:06:00.000-07:00

Pure

2008-12-09T10:45:00.000-08:00

Me sans makeup.

Contemplation

2008-12-09T10:26:00.000-08:00

Contemplating the melting of his ice cream

EB and his Dog

2008-12-08T20:57:00.000-08:00

EB in his Costa Nada Hoodie, which he loves and attempts to wear each and every single day and Skye, our loving and tormented Husky

LB in Royal Stuart Tartan

2008-12-08T20:53:00.000-08:00

Notice that my son's middle finger is raised, he does this all the time. It's like he's flipping the world the bird.

Tropical Plant

2008-06-22T05:46:00.000-07:00

When I got my Azalea's, I also got got this tropical plant. I have no idea what it is since the tag that came with it that normally tells you what type of plant you've got only identified it as a 'Tropical Plant' which I thought was amusing because I sure as heck knew this wasn't any Canadian plant, but thanks for the tip anyways, Dumbasses!

More Azaleas

2008-06-20T13:56:00.000-07:00

A better pic of the pretty flowers

Azalea

2008-06-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

One pic of the flowers the Hubby got me for my birthday

Goofy Son

2008-06-17T06:02:00.000-07:00

This is my goofy son in his Bat Man pyjamas, trying to make it look like he's all muscular and works out. Nice tongue by the way.

Cute Boy

2007-12-17T07:28:00.000-08:00

Fireworks

2007-12-17T07:18:00.000-08:00

Dot's New Clothes

2007-12-17T07:06:00.000-08:00

On the River**

2007-07-27T08:31:00.000-07:00

Dot in the Paddle Boat, Floating Down the River

EB in the Boat, Floating Down the River

LB and Mom (who is having a very bad hair day by the way) Floating on the River

View of the River Bank
Another View of River Bank

** These pictures were taken by the Hubby and not myself

At the Beach

2007-07-27T08:26:00.000-07:00

View of the Beach from the Dunes

EB on the Beach

Dot Floats Unsuspecting While Her Dad Contemplates Dropping LB on her Head
(Just Kidding)

Kicking Feet in the Sand

The Car Wash

2007-07-25T08:13:00.000-07:00

LB Wearing EB's Hat

Soapy Windshield

Rainbow on the Drivers Side

LBin the Car Wash
Believe it or not, LB does love going through the car wash. He'd been smiling a second before I snapped this picture.

Hanging Plant

2007-07-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

After the Rain

Attack of the Squirrel

2007-07-22T07:30:00.000-07:00

First it was hanging on my screen, but by the time I got the camera it had moved over to the brick wall. I think it wanted in, the dog wanted it to come in. She thought it would make a tasty snack!

Backyard Bubbles

2007-06-13T05:16:00.000-07:00

He Don't Want to be A Chicken....

2007-06-02T11:58:00.000-07:00

[In a Sing Song Voice]

I'm a duck, I'm a duck, I'm a wicked little duck.

[End Song]

This is the duck that was given to the kids for Easter by Kiki Mongoose (their Aunt).

He comes with theme music and is just the greatest thing since sliced bread (although the bread disagrees!)

Rabbit Cake

2007-04-11T12:06:00.000-07:00

This is the carrot cake that Dot made for Easter.

I told them we were making a rabbit cake, they asked me what kind of cake it was going to be made out of.
I said "Rabbit". They laughed at me. I told them "No, really it's going to be made of rabbit. W're going to catch theEaster Rabbit, and grind him up to make our cake!"

New Critter

2007-04-01T14:15:00.000-07:00

EB Revisualized

2007-03-03T21:30:00.000-08:00

I decided to play with a photo of EB in photo shop and this was the end result. I kind of like it.

Head Like an Easter Egg

2007-03-03T21:25:00.000-08:00

This was te final stage of EB's great hair experiment from last year, pink hair! It's hard to believe that he loved having fuschia hair but he did.
The name on the bottle was 'Red Passion', who knew that it would actually be pink?

Blonde

2007-03-03T21:21:00.000-08:00

This picture was taken last year while EB was in his 'platinum' stage.

The Crime

2007-02-24T08:04:00.000-08:00

Exhibit A: The Victim

A gift for Mothers Day (2005) from my Children.
I nurtured two beaufiful lilies, as you can see this one plant had not only one beautiful bloom, but many little buds about to burst forth and share their loveliness with the world.

Exhibit B: The Criminal

I always thought it was customary to leave the scene of the crime!!

Notice the guilty look in the eye.

Yuck, Maybe!

2007-02-24T07:55:00.000-08:00

It looks like LB eating a mouthful of his Dad's home made Chocolate Chip Cookies looks exactly the same as him having his mouth stuffed full of poop.

Who knew?

edit: Hubby thought that perhaps you all would think he made awful cookies when he read the above.

I would like to share with you all the fact that those cookies were mouthwateringly yummy and did not in fact taste excremental at all.

Goof

2007-02-24T07:48:00.000-08:00

At my Mom's house at Christmas.
My son trying to look all angsty and cool.

My Apple

2007-02-24T07:43:00.000-08:00

This is another picture from our apple picking trip back in October.

This is LB protecting 'his' apple. Notice the slight frown.

That expression seems be his favorite one right now.

I'm not kidding. That kid is frowning more than smiling lately. And yes it is still a really cute face he makes.

He sort of reminds me of a grumpy old man when he does it, only a younger, smaller version.

First Taste of Apple

2007-02-23T05:31:00.000-08:00

Last fall we went apple picking and we tooka grater along with us.

We picked an apple from the tree (MacIntosh) and grated it right there in the orchard, and fed it to LB.

This was the first time he'd ever tasted a fresh apple, usually he eats apple sauce.

It never occured to me to just grate it and feed it to him before.

This was his first taste and it really shocked him.

But after he got used to the taste he really enjoyed it.

We did it again with Red Delicious and other sweet varieties, and I have to say that I think he likes them better.

Cold Kid

2007-02-22T20:57:00.000-08:00

The other morning EB was walking around the house, moaning about how cold it was. He said it was so cold inside that he had to put on a hat. Of course putting on a shirt might have helped more! I don't know why the kid hates shirts so much.

Giant Fingers

2007-02-22T20:54:00.000-08:00

It's a giant hand and it's stealing the cheese and crackers!!

Actually this is my Baby Bros fingers, and we thought it was a kind of funny to take this picture.

This was taken during the Christmas holidays.

Mom

2007-01-23T05:39:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of my Mom on the phone with her Mom, taken in her kitchen.

Bad Ass Blonde

2006-11-09T10:45:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of EB from last spring. Back when he was a bad ass blonde.

I took a whole slew of pictures on this day, before the dying process began, during the process and then once again after.

This is an after shot.

After we did this we then attempted to dye his hair red, but it came out pink. I do have pictures of that, but I'll post them another day. Today this is all about the blondness of my son.

He still has some blonde in his hair, right on the tips. One more hair cut and it'll be all gone though. And then all that will remain of this look will be what I have in photographs.

Pup

2006-09-06T08:18:00.000-07:00

My Pup. It's a bit fuzzy but then so is she.

Extreme Muzzle Close Up

My Boys

2006-09-06T08:13:00.000-07:00

Lying together on the sofa, both of my boys who adore each other more than anything else in this world.

Close Up of LB

2006-08-30T06:57:00.000-07:00

LB was going out for a walk with his RG (Respite Girl) and he was looking so serious I just had to capture the moment.

Dot's School Photo

2006-08-25T15:24:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken in September 2005 for school, Dot is 9 years old.

She has told me that she really likes this picture and she is planning on making the 2006 school picture look even better. That's what she's planning anyway.

LB and My Men

2006-08-25T15:16:00.000-07:00

I've been told that I haven't shown enough pictures of LB. This picture was taken of him when he was 5 and it's one of my favorites.
This picture was taken at the same time as the one above. Only this time it's EB, LB and Hubby rolling on the floor together and goofing around. It was such a cute scene I couldn't resist snapping a pic.

Dot on the Tractor

2006-08-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

This is picture of Dot was taken last year when we were apple picking. It was a nice day spent together as a family.

We were at Chudleighs Apple Farm and we'd picked all the apples that we wanted to.

We'd eaten some BBQ'd corn on the cob, some apple pie and apple cider.

After we'd walked around the farm, let the kids play in the hay and did a bit of shopping we then decided that it might be fun to take a scenic tractor ride. That's when I took this picture.

Kids at Pioneer Village

2006-08-24T15:00:00.000-07:00

EB Rocking on Stilts. He was pretty good at it. He actually gave his stilts to someone else and began to coach them and try to help them get up on the stilts before we left.

EB doing some of his chores Dot doing her chores.
Dot wobbling on stilts. The second that this picture was taken she actually managed to not only fall off the stilts but onto her little bottom as well.

The Graduate

2006-08-24T14:38:00.000-07:00

EB on Graduation Day (Grade 5 Grad) wearing clothes that he picked out himself. It's hard to see but that shirt has thin stripes on it that match the color of his tie.

Gate is Up

2006-08-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning the workman came back to put up our gate. It's a good thing too, because I was on the verge of thinking that we might never get that gate put up.
When the workers arrived Skye was outside and they terrified her so much that she tried to bash her head through our sliding door to get back into the house.
Of course once she was in the house and the door closed securely behind her, that was when she turned around and gave them a few barks and growls. I guess she was trying to save face or something.
And this is the finished product. Now the dog owners from the building can walk by with their dogs on the leash and not have to get frightened when my own pup charges at them until she reaches the end of her chain and jerks back with a yelp.
All day today she's been sitting outside. She hasn't wanted to come inside once, well ok she did actually come inside once. But that was only because she wanted me to give her one of her doggy treats. But otherwise she's sitting out there sunning herself and sniffing the entire yard like a dog possessed.

Patio Stones Are Here

2006-08-24T12:56:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday August 16, 2006 some loud thumping and baning noises that were coming from my backyard woke me out of a nice slumber. I went to the back window in a bit of a mood. I had intended to complain to whom ever it was that was pounding away back there. When I looked out my back window this was the vision that awaited me.
Yes, the workman had come and were laying down the patio stone for us.
This was the finished product. I realize that it may not look like the Taj Mahal or anything but to me it looks like a life support. Just one more thing that will make my life just that much easier. Hooray. Now LB will be able to go out to the bus without getting mud all over his wheels and bringing it back into the house. And shoveling the snow in the winter will be so much easier now that I'll have stone underneath and not loose dirt, grass and weeds.

This is LB

2006-08-24T12:30:00.000-07:00

The other day when Respite Girl was here she gave him a very long bath. Later, when he was out of the bath, dried and dressed this is how he looked. He slept like a little angel that night, and no wonder. You can just see how tired he is in that picture. And I think it's time for a haircut. LB loves Respite Girl. She just finished feeding him his lunch here. She is now playing with his feet and making him kick his feet for some excercise. You can see on his face just how much he loves her.

More EB

2006-08-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

This is EB, he's almost 3 here and still has his blonde hair. Although it is hard to see it underneath Bro's hat.

This is EB on his 2nd Birthday. This was snapped just minutes before the party. Of course the hair didn't stay that way for long.

EB in the bath with the funny hair that Mom gave him. He's almost 2 in this one.

EB used to have this talent for falling asleep pretty much anywhere and anytime. Here he was supposed to be eating his lunch when he passed out in his sister's chair. He's 4 in this one.

EB as a Baby

2006-08-16T19:31:00.000-07:00

In this photograph circa August of 1994, EB is only 1 month old and I am 24. We are taking a break at the Canadian National Exhibition to ingest some food stuffs. And of course Hubby decided to take the opportunity to click this picture so that we would one day be able to look back and say witty little things like "What the hell was I thinking when I dressed my first born up like a jail bird?"

In this photo EB is about 3 months old. I'm the one holding him and I used to love to play with his bottom lip. I'd wiggle it around and make it look like he was talking while I said silly little things like "If you take that picture of me Daddy I will seriously kick your ass!"

For some reason EB used to enjoy sitting in this bowl. In this picture he is about 17 months old. Notice his beautiful blonde hair? What happened?

EB didn't want me to share this picture with anyone, but I just love it way too much to keep it hidden in a photo album somewhere.
This picture was taken at EB's first birthday party. We had 2 cakes. One for all the guests and then another small chocolate one for EB to have all to himself.
We sat him on the ground after we'd stripped all of his clothes off of him. We placed the cake in front of him and let him go mad.
This was the result.

Do Ladies Prefer Blondes?

2006-01-30T19:27:00.000-08:00

Today Sean dyed his hair blonde, and I mean really blonde. It's stage one in his attempt to dye his hair red.

Before the Dye

Just after the dye was applied

Almost ready to be rinsed out

Finished product, notice surly visage. What's next skin art and nipple piercings?

Niagara Falls

2005-08-29T08:42:00.000-07:00

We went to Niagara Falls yesterday with the kids. We had a great time and I was able to snap this shot of the falls at sunset.

As we were driving home, into the sun I decided to take a picture of the sunset itself. I think it turned out pretty good.

Sunrise and Ice

2004-01-09T10:26:00.000-08:00

This morning I was out walking the dog and I saw that the sudden drop of going from an average temperature of 1 to 4 degreec celsius to -35 celsius made the lake give off mist or steam. I'm not sure what the actual term used to describe it would be. All I do know is that the view was spectacular.

I took this one at the nearby park, the sun was coming up and with the mist and the two poor little ducks that didn't seem all that impressed with the cold and my photo taking technique, everything was just picture perfect, as they say.
Same shot as above, only a few seconds later, and I think from a different angle. Notice no golden effect from the sunrise. It's amazing how just a few seconds can make all the difference.
A view of the Lakeview Powerplant (or the Four Sisters as it's sometimes called) and some ducks in the water. Crazy birds, don't they know just how cold it is. Of course, the water is still warmer than the air, so perhaps they're not so crazy after all.
The beach in winter. Noboday swims here, not even in the summer. But it's a nice place to bring the kids to dig in the sand and sit and read a book.
Those aren't clouds in the distance, that's a buildup or wall of mist/steam that is coming off of the lake.
A view of the lake, the mist and the wall of mist that is building up. It was a cold morning and when I got home I had to thaw with a big mug of steaming hot chocolate.

Even the dog didn't like the weather that day, and she's a Siberian Husky and we all know how much they enjoy the cold winter weather.