lasten kirjoja

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Click on the picture to read the Dandelion Fairy poem.

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Sienna is having her lunch so I have time to show more books. Gotta love kids' books!! I love them, I love them, I love them. Ihana kun aina Suomestakin saa valilla kirjoja. Nehan ne vasta rakkaita ovatkin.

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LUMIUKKO
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Oli pihassa lumiukko,
hyvin suuri ja mahtava mies.
Se tuijotti hiilisilmin
Ja korkean arvonsa ties.
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- Olen mainio, mahtava herra,
se tuumi, tuumi nain.
Mutta harakat kylassa kaikki
nauroivat takanapain.
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Saa lauha ja suojainen ehti
ja ukolle tuhon toi.
Et ilkkua saa nyt sille,
- niin muillekin kayda voi.

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Heikki Jylha

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Gotta love Astrid Lindgren!

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This was a gift for Sienna on her first Christmas. Such a cute book! The story is great and the illustrations are beautiful.

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Another book I found for Sienna. The snowman glitters and feels rough to the touch. Once again, double treat: great story, beautiful pictures.


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In case you didn't know - my nickname as a child was Mimmi. This is such a fun book!! Great story, fun pictures.

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Klikkaa kuvaa ja lue tama sivu kirjasta. Ihanasti kaikki pyortyivat verisen hampaan nahdessaan. :)
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Hauskoja lauluja lapsille. Hyva etta tuli cd:n kanssa kun muuten ei olisi ollut hajuakaan miten naita laulella. Jospa Siennasta tulisi aitiaan musikaalisempi. Hyvalla alulla on jo ainakin. Vauvasta asti Sienna saanut kuunnella naita lauluja. Tanssittukin "Rantarokin" ja "Kalle tahtoo koputella" laulujen kanssa esim.
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We're not great singers but we sing every day in our family. Singing is fun! Often it leads to an impromptu dancing session in the living room as well. And we don't even care if the neighbors see us. Are we a crazy fun family or what. :)

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Rantarokki:


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Jalkojeni alla litisee,


jalkojeni alla lotisee.

Jalkojeni alla litisee,


jalkojeni alla lotisee.


Mita se on? Mita se on?

Vetta! Se on vetta!

Aitoa kuravetta!

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Sienna has watched these dvd's "million" times. The Little Tikes one has kids' songs and videos of kids doing fun stuff. "Do you know the ice-cream man, the ice-cream man, the ice-cream man..." The Curious Buddies are so cute! "Let's make music" & "Let's move" have entertained us tons. Educational too!

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This is a book that Sienna is getting this Christmas. I saw it in a bookstore long time ago but didn't buy it. Now I need to order it from www.amazon.ca. It has the cutest story about what happens to all those teeth the tooth fairy collects. They end up in rattles and who knows where. Well, you'll know once you read the book. :)

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(The first two books in this posting are vintage books I found for a dollar or two. Can't beat a good bargain. I don't care if the books are old. I just vacuum & wipe them and they're as good as new. )
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best gifts

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Jay asked me for my Christmas wish list yesterday. He won't have much time to shop so I'll just write up a looooong list and then he can choose from it and it'll still be a surprise what I'll get. To me Christmas is not Christmas unless I get books and dvd's as gifts. There's nothing better than reading a good book and eating chocolate from your stocking and later in the evening curl up in our LoveSac (our huge "bean bag" couch that's actually filled with furniture foam) and watch a good movie. Thought I'd share some of my favorites from the Christmases past.

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Who has tons of money to see all the shows/concerts out there. Not me. A cheap alternative is to buy them on dvd. You get a great seat and can enjoy the show over and over again. Of course it's not the real thing but it's still ton of fun. I love my Cirque du Soleil dvd's. I'm sure you all have seen C-du-S. If not, get to it! :) No animals. Just amazing human talent done in the most artsy way. The best clowns ever are the C-du-S clowns. And Mr Noodle and his brother Mr Noodle from Sesame Street as well. :)

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www.cirquedusoleil.com (Canadian!!!)

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This "why paint cats" book is one of my favorite book finds. I never even knew there was such a thing as painted cats. I guess it started somewhere in Asia. They started having painted cats in their temples. Gotta love books and the world that opens up to you as you read them. And all the animal lovers out there: no animals harmed in the process. Natural, non-toxic paints. And if a cat doesn't want you to paint it, it won't happen. These must be some mellow cats. I could see Africa letting me paint him but Spice... No way!!

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I have mentioned Andy Goldsworthy (my favorite earthly artist) and his most amazing environmental art before. So what are you waiting for? Go buy one of his awesome books!! :)

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Here are some of the cats for ya. Amazing or what.

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One measley sample of Andy's work:
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And... I started making my yearly snowflakes for the front windows last night. It got cold and snowed and now my snowflakes are wet (condensation). These stinking one panel windows!!!! I just can't believe that it's not against the building code here in Canada to put up cheap windows like these in houses. Hello, it gets cold here in the winter! Grrrh!
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I love my snowflakes every winter. They look so pretty from the outside as well. I hope our neighbors appreciate them too.
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More books to come. Stay tuned. :)
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A challenge for the other bloggers out there:
What are your favorite Christmas gifts? Do tell. :)
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uusi o.

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Olen aina tykannyt kun vanhoista tehdaan uutta. On mahtava nahda miten "romusta" saa upeaa. Introducing: Uusi O.

www.uusio.fi

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Before and after jakkarat.

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Before and after kaappi.

(Oops: tuli laitettua tahan kuva kaapin takaosasta, eli etuosa tuo eka kuva tassa viestissa nyt sitten. Eiko olekin kiva etta ovat tehneet takaosan hienoksi myos. Ei tarvi laittaa seinaa vasten jos ei halua.)
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Taman tuolin nimi on Uusinta Muotia. Huonekalut kyllakin paallystetty 50- ja 60-luvun lehdista. Retro kovin in nykyaan.

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Tama lipasto on paallystetty vanhoilla Helsinki kuvilla.

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good old 80's

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I've been walking down the memory lane a lot lately as you've probably noticed. Every once in awhile it's so much fun to take a look back and remember what it was like way back when. Paul Newman was my #1 Crush as a teenager.

Who was yours?

I really, really, really want to know. Please leave a comment and start confessing. :)

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Toyah. So cool in all her make up and stuff. I had her record. Yep, an actual vinyl record. :)

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I still love this picture of Toyah. Back then this was the coolest thing I had ever seen. Black contact lenses and all. Birds flying all over the place. I remember how I wanted to do stuff like this. Hmm, I think I'd STILL want to do stuff like this for the fun of it. Artsy = "me". I wouldn't walk around looking like this (of course) but I can't help but think this is cool. Man oh man I'm getting used to confessing a lot here on my blog. :)

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Yep, I was one of those silly girls with crushes on #2 & #5. Can't remember their names for the life of me.

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I don't think I ever listened to Adam Ant's music but I suuuure thought he was cute! :)
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I still like many of Bowie's songs. Heroes/Helden is my all time favorite. I used to listen to it soooo loud in my room. Poor neighbors.
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Of course I feel a connection to Bowie because we both have weird eyes. ;)
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it's that picture time again

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I'm teaching Sienna some bad habits. Well, someone might say it's a bad habit. I don't mind. :) Sometimes I let Sienna have lunch downstairs in front of the tv. She eats slowly and if we're not having lunch at the same time, it gets pretty boring for her. Or so I think. I have always enjoyed eating lunch while reading a magazine or a book. I don't think there's nothing wrong with it. As long as you have family mealtimes as well. This day she had rice crackers with tunasalad and cheese (warmed up in the microwave), fruit salad and a peanut butter cracker to top it all of. These rice crackers are Sienna's "bread" as she's allergic to wheat. It's hard to find anything but wheat bread here. Sienna doesn't like rye (ruis) bread yet.

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By the way, I love Sienna in a basic black t-shirt. Totally my style and I think Sienna looks so good in black. So there. :)

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Sienna visited the front closet. Found Robin's church shoes. Notice how the right foot is on top of the "lip thingie" (whatever it's called). :)
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I looooove this picture! She found her summer swing in that same closet. She has had tons of fun with it on the floor.
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Confession: I spend TONS of money on books. I LOVE books! You can never have too many books. Notice the picture of the cats cuddling each other. So cute! (ugly picture frame but at the time I couldn't resist it because it says "best buddies") And Spice as a wee kitten. He was sooooooo cute. And still is. My Big Boy.
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As you can see, I'm running out of bookshelf space. I bought the wee birch bark basket in Fort Chip. Inkkari kamaa. The angel is from my mom. She has crooked eyes. Say it together: Aa-a! :)
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Another confession time: I love these World Princess Barbies. It's a long story how I got them. Well, not that long. Basically we found this Ireland Princess in one of our "mix and match" surprise boxes when we were still selling toys on eBay from our home. I wanted to keep it because of the Ireland connection. Then Jay surprised me and kept buying me more (on wholesale price, I should add). Eventually I had to tell him to stop buying them as my conscience took over. Silly to spend so much money on toys when we didn't even had kids yet. To be honest, the collector in me wishes I hadn't told him to stop buying them. :) Now I'm saving them for Sienna. I need to buy a storage box for them as they collect a whole lot of dust sitting on the bookshelf in our bedroom.
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I love these Barbies for these reasons:
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1. I'm a collector at heart. I love to have stuff. Just need to have a huge storage room so I can hide the stuff and only look at them when I feel like it. Don't like clutter but I do like stuff.
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2. I love the various cultures of the world! I have always been fascinated how differently we all live. We think our way is "normal" but "they" think their way is normal. I love the different costumes of the world. I have always been fascinated by costume history as well.
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3. As a child, I loved playing with Barbies with my friend Marjo. She always had all kinds of Barbie stuff. Now I have my Barbies. There's a total nostalgic link from Barbies to my brain.
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4. I'm totally into princesses. I used to draw everyone as a princess when I was little. Now that I KNOW I'm a princess my love for princesses makes total sense to me.
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SO THERE! Don't you dare make fun of me and my Barbies. :) Ok, laugh away... This is pretty funny. :)
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Oops, took pictures of the Princess of Italy twice. Oh well. :)
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Admit it: they're so pretty and fun! Just admit it! :)
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ps. Forgot... Yesterday when Sienna and I came home from grocery shopping I did my usual routine: first took the grocery bags in the house, then went to get Sienna. As I started to get her out of her car seat, she said "Mommy took the bags in the house... Good job mommy!" It really felt like I got a pat on the back and had done such a good job. :) And today it started to rain when we were outside and Sienna automatically started to sing "It's raining... it's pouring... the old man is snoring... he bumped his head... and couldn't get up in the morning." :) Gotta love it!
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lotsa stuff

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Victoria Robinson's "justin case". Just because.

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Niekee Centre in Netherlands. An educational and cultural centre for youth. Nothing to do with shopping but I love the building.

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Advent calendar Elf/Tompte/Tonttu. From Bibelot.

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Denyse Schmidt makes the most beautiful quilts. www.dsquilts.com

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Found this cute hat at Orange Button. www.shoporangebutton.com

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Bibelot had these melamine plates on sale as well. Design by Jane Jenni. Which one are you?

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Great notepad gift idea for a friend at work. :)

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This would be cute a bit more simplified with a picture of your own family in it. Feeling crafty?

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Peace, Joy & Hope. That's what we all need this Christmas and always. (Bibelot has all three of those ornaments in case you're wondering)

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Do dream big. Do celebrate life. Do live, love & laugh. And it sure can be your day. :)

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We already have our stockings but I thought this was fun.

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I love this phone message notepad. :)

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As you all see, I have had too much time at home lately. :) Jay working late nights, Sienna sleeping, I'm too sick/tired to do much, computer is on... You get the picture. :) I'm seriously thinking about doing most of my Christmas shopping online this year. I really don't enjoy shopping that much (a bit here and there is ok but none of that running from store to store during Christmas rush kind of stuff for me, thank you very much) so why not. Lots of fun stuff out there. I'm not buying it all (well, duh) but I always enjoy a good "what's new out there". Hope you do too.

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Most of the above stuff is from Bibelot: www.bibelotshops.com

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Eilen kun kaytiin syomassa fast foodia, niin karpanen lensi Siennan viereen ja voi etta Sienna pelastyi. Siennan ahdistukset tulee aina tuollaisissa jutuissa selvasti ilmi. Vaikka kuinka yritin reippaasti jutella etta "ai kun ihana, tuo karpanen tuli sanomaan meille hei.. kato nyt se lentaa tuolla kaikille niita moikkaamaan..." niin silti Sienna oli selvasti peloissaan otokasta. Tasta sitten seurasi tosi huonosti nukuttu yo. Siennalla oli painajaisia ja herasi monen monta kertaa. Itkusteli ja sanoi "ladybug" (kutsuu joskus kaikkia otokoita leppiksiksi) ja piti halailla monta kertaa ja muistuttaa etta Mr Murphy (Siennan yopehmoapina) on sangyssa halailemassa myos. Voi meidan pikku raukkaa. Heti kun tulen parempaan kuntoon niin vien Siennan uudestaan homeopaatille. En tieda oliko se eka remedy oikea kun ei auttanut. Mulla on viela toivoa homeopatian suhteen. Jos jokin auttaa Siennan ahdistusta niin se toivottavasti. Western medicine ei tee mitaan asian puolesta.

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