just a quick blog to mention how nice it is to have a break from my kids once in a while!! steven & noah are camping in BC with the in-laws and adam is at the lake with my family & luisa. i went out for a drink & dessert with a great friend this evening and am looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow (i'm not sure if i'm even capable of sleeping past 7:30am anymore, but i'm planning to stay in bed for a while)! i love my hubby and kids and have called several times to check up on them . . . but some alone time is awesome!! i highly recommend it to any mom!

have a very happy canada day!
we are open from 12-4pm tomorrow!!

shopping!

good morning- writing you from my downtown hotel suite in vancouver...right on robson & burrard. if you've ever been to vancouver, you know this location is a shoppers dream! we've been strolling the streets in our new phil & teds vibe stroller and i am so so happy with it. it's easy enough to steer with one hand while i am using the other for my venti starbucks latte! i could really get used to living in a big city, but i would be broke for sure! i did manage to do a 2 hour power shop the other night and i was seriously embarassed by the sheer number of bags i was carrying...the site was screaming tourist! it was a nice birthday splurge!

hey becc- thanks for the birthday wishes. perry told me you called yesterday- thanks! i think i went to bed at 8:30...girls are getting up saskatoon time so that is making for early mornings. was so tired last night after shopping and a day of visiting with my aunt & uncle and my 88 year old grandmother (that seriously looks 20 years younger than her age). she made an amazing birthday dinner for me last night. she amazes me ever time i see her. she really never seems to age!

my parents and brother are coming in today and we're all going for dinner to my aunt & uncle's tonight. perry is at his conference this morning and then i think we're going to head out for a little more shopping (last day afterall)!

oh, i did want to mention 3 things that i ABOLUTELY LOVE that i bought from the store- the phil & teds vibe stroller and me too chair and the baby bjorn travel light crib...seriously some of the best purchases i have made for layla. if you are travelling with a baby, these are a must have!

ryan's turn on the computer!

have a great day!
j

filling in

hi! jor's away so i thought i'd post something on here for a change! first off, a very happy, happy birthday to my amazing business partner - jordana turned 35 today! she's feeling a bit stressed out about the big "3" "5", but i don't think she has anything to worry about! she keeps talking about her midlife crisis, botox and a convertible!! i'm totally ok with the convertible. i can just picture her in a super cute, black beemer, with the top down . . . and two britax carseats in the back! as for the botox, not sure what wrinkles she's referring to?!?!!? (perhaps i need my eyesight checked). i think she could hold off on the procedure for a while! she's terrified of needles, so maybe that will deter her!

as for me, noah & steven went to baines lake to visit with steven's parents, so, adam and i had the whole weekend to ourselves! i've seriously forgotten how easy one child is!!! our house is so quiet without noah - wonderful!!! adam acts like a completely different child when his big brother is not bugging him or encouraging him to misbehave! he's such a sweet boy . . . and so calm!! don't get me wrong, i miss noah like crazy . . . but it sure is nice to have some peace and quiet for a few days!

update

trying to pack for a family of four is really ridiculous...it's mostly layla's things that pre-occupy my mind...bottles, formula, food, diapers, etc, etc. we are heading out for a quick family "vacation". looking forward to it and keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes smoothly! we have friends coming in from out of town that will be staying at our place...too bad we'll miss them, but nice that they will have a place to themselves! picked up the new vibe stroller from phil & teds last night. test drove it today and love it!! the kids both really enjoyed it too. people often worry that the babe won't like being in the back seat, but layla was just fine!




this week was a big one in the yard. stairs along the side of our house are almost done, patio & walkway are done...4 retaining walls and a rasied planter in the front yard and we're ready to move on to top oil, sprinklers, fence & sod...oh yes, and some planting. our driveway was also poured this week. it's really difficult to tell what it's going to look like when finished. we got it stamped so at this point the "release" powder is still sitting on top...can' tell what color it really is. we went light with our driveway and if you haven't noticed there are not many light stamped driveways out there. this was a new challenge for the company and super stressful for me. curtis & trevor were quite insistent that we go light becuz our house is so dark and i completely trust their opinion. just hoping it turns out the way i have it envisioned.



will try & write while i am away...if not, have a great week and i will write when i get back



j

sun

hope the sun is here to stay for at least a couple of days. can't wait to get our driveway poured so we have some sort of solid surface to walk and drive a car on. the landscapers showed up this morning as i was driving away so hopefully they'll be able to do some work...it is SO muddy back there!

becca & i are off to a meeting and lunch for a few hours. nice break away from paperwork!

will post some new pics soon!

j

skip hop in the news

check out the link below! madonna carrying her son david's zoo pack from skip hop! super cute & in stock now at cravings!

http://www.celebritybabyscoop.com/2009/06/19/madonna-kids-land-in-london

also check out skip hop's web site for other great items available exclusively at cravings in saskatoon!

www.skiphop.com

MEDELA breat pump rental

just wanted to let you know that we have 3 hospital grade breast pumps available for rent right now! email or call for more details!

http://www.medelabreastfeedingus.com/products/breast-pumps/223/symphony-breastpump

enjoy the sun!

j

lots of progress!

i am so tired right now i can barely type! what a busy day around here. 5 landscapers, 2 garage organizers (perry's father's day surprise!) and 5 driveway guys. thank goodness i was at home...had questions every half hour. so exciting to see so much work getting done! here are some updated pictures of our yard.

also wanted to mention that we got our all natural sunscreen and bug spray in yesterday...better hurry cuz it won't last!

have a good night!

j

saskatoon home magazine!

check out our full-page ad in the summer edition of "SASKATOON HOME" magazine (page 14). the ad features furniture and accessories from MONTE DESIGN & TULIP by NATART, and SKIP*HOP.

updated pics

weekend

i'm exhausted. perry has been on call all weekend and that means no break for me. guess that will come tomorrow morning when i go to work! sitting on my butt watching episode 1 of the second season of lost. love it!

bought a few plants today. went to garden architecture. bought enough for one planter to see if can keep them alive for more than a few days. don't want to invest too much if i end up killing them right away! i'm thinking i'm going to need to cut down on the number of planters i am going to use...it can get really costly!

no work done on the yard this weekend....will wait to see what they've accomplished when i get home tomorrow. i have updated picture but they are on the other computer and that would mean i would have to get up...not going to happen! will post tomorrow!

have a good night,
j

progress!

yard is looking so good! i'll take some updated pictures tomorrow. the raised planters are just about finished and the stairs to the patio are about half complete. i guess they are thinking another week (ish) of stone work and then the rest should be quick. keeping my fingers crossed that we'll be getting our driveway this week. met with curtis & trevor and they came up with a great design idea, just a bit worried about color matching. i told them to expect a 911 call from me this week if the driveway guy doesn't think he can match the color exactly. haven't seen a driveway pattern like this one before, which is exactly what i like...unique.

so happy the sun is shining and it is supposed to stick around for the next few days anyway. perry is on call again this weekend but at least i can get outside with the kids. it makes all the difference.

had a long and draining day today so i am going to pour myself a glass of red and settle in for the season 1 finale of lost...we started watching 2 weeks ago and i'm hooked!

j

cravings is tweeting!

find cravings on twitter!! like i need more to do :)

http://twitter.com/CravingsMandB

j

sun

things are moving along nicely in the back yard. they seem to be in a groove now. more stone work- probably another week of it yet- and then on the sprinklers, sod, planting. i am meeting with with our lanscaper tonight at a greenhouse to finalize plants. i know NOTHING about plants. all i know is that i want low maintenance! i do have a plan already but i'm thinking i might want to make a couple of changes. the planting is going to be a huge job- hundreds of plants are planned. it'll be great when it's all finished!

so, so happy the sun is shining today and that there is hope for a nice weekend coming up. i guess there's a good chance of rain today and tomorrow, but i'm hoping for sunny skies after that! you can tell that everyone's mood has been lifted today at the store. the sun makes such a huge difference.

j

father's day

just a reminder that father's day is just around the corner...not that moms need a reminder...aren't we in charge of the entire family calendar?! come in and check out our great dad and dad-to-be gifts at cravings...

from 2 chix daddy tees to skip hop, petunia pickle bottom and jujube daddy diaper bags...we also carry a great new line of cards from speckles & weeds!

a few links for you to check out

http://www.petuniapicklebottom.com/

http://www.2chix.com/

http://www.specklesandweeds.com/

j

pics

day #4 of landscaping. can't wait to get home today to see the progress! i am meeting with atmosphere interior design on thursday to over colors, etc. i've already picked the stone colors so hopefully i made the right choice! thought our driveway might get done this week but it looks as though we'll have to wait until next week now. a couple pictures of what's been done so far!

these are our future raised planters that will surround the patio

also wanted to mention that we've received our 2009 maclaren quest and our 2009 peg perego si strollers! both are fantastic light weight strollers- super cute fabrics and perfect for travelling....now i just have to decide which one to buy!

www.maclarenbaby.com

www.pegperego.com

j

what's with the weather?

day #2 of landscaping. the crew was here for 8 hours and they seemed to be working all day...but you sure can't see many changes yet. i'm thinking they're probably off for the weekend so we'l have to wait until monday for more progress. i'm really not sure how this could possibly be completed in 2 weeks?!

i'm really hoping this weather turns around...for the sake of our landscaping and everyone's sanity. this is by far the worst spring i can remember. it's got everyone wondering if we will actually get a summer.

i did want to mention a great a new line of furniture we've recently brought in by natart- the tulip line-up is absolutely stunning. check it out!

http://www.tulipjuvenile.com/

have a great night and keep your fingers crossed that we don't have a weekend of rain

j

landscaping

landscaping has officially started! the bob-cat was here this morning for a couple of hours making piles of dirt. i really have no idea what happens when so it'll all be a surprise! i picked the stone for the retaining walls, the patio and walkways and it was ordered today as well. just hope the weather cooperates so it gets done quickly! our driveway is scheduled for next week too...bye, bye dirt! i'll post some "before pictures" as soon as i get them downloaded.

sounds like layla is up from her nap...gotta run!

j

featured product

your best friend/sister/cousin/daughter is pregnant and you want to find the perfect congratulatory gift? you have to check out morning chicness bags! that's right...they are chic barf bags! why not be sick in style :)

http://www.morningchicnessbags.com/