Last year I missed out on The Ultimate Blog Party over at 5 Minutes for Mom, so I wanted to get in on the action this year. I thought it might be a fun way to meet new bloggers and I always love a little party.

First a little introduction, I am BeachMama. I love everything to do with the beach and the seaside, yes even the seagulls. I live in the ‘Great White North‘ and we are currently experiencing the worst snow storm since 1947. It isn’t over yet, so we do have hopes that some of it will miss us.

I have three wonderful kids. A, almost 16 is my Stepson and I don’t blog about him too much as you know, he is 16. J, my four and a half year old boy is full of spirit and highjinks. He started junior kindergarten this year and loves school so much he cried when he had to stay home two weeks ago with pink eye (which I know have). And Apple, she is six months old and growing stronger everyday. She is feisty and ready to take on her older brothers. She is already sitting up to play and trying to crawl, she snakes along the floor and laughs the whole way. What she really wants is to get up and walk, so it may happen earlier as opposed to later.

I have two large and feeling neglected with the new baby dogs. One Border-colie Lab who is 12 and a Siberian Huskey who is 8. They are dearly loved, but definitely feel the sting of not coming first on the totem pole anymore.

And last of all Hubby. A wonderful man who, without any formal training, will build me whatever I ask for (well, within reason). Playstructures and pergolas for the backyard (fence too) and right now he is currently finishing our basement reno.

A little tidbit more about me, I love to craft. I am working on my newest love, knitting. But, continue to sew and string together new fun little things from paper and wool. My project last week was a cake for J’s cake raffle. It went very well and I had a hoot making it. I am always up for a crafting challenge. I am also working on getting back to shape after baby and have been getting ready for a 5k in May. My recent illness has set me back a bit, but it won’t stop me in my tracks, I will get back to it in another week or so. I also love taking photos and always wanted to take my photography to the next level of professionalism. I work on it constantly and hope to get in a course or two in the near future.

Welcome to the party and enjoy your stay “…At the Beach”.

I will admit that I was feeling a bit rotten but, lying around with all my exciting projects around me just wasn’t working. I kept drinking tea and eating lozenges. But I my throat was still killing me. So, Monday night I decided to try something. I asked Hubby what he thought about Tylenol for a sore throat. He figured if I could take it while nursing it was worth a try. So I did. It was a small miracle. I did not have to eat one more lozenge all night long. YAY!

Then, I headed to the grocery store yesterday and wondered if they carried the adult version of Coryzalia, which I give to the kids when they are getting a cold (I used it for J and now Apple, but it doesn’t work after 3 years old). And lo and behold, they did! I brought it home, read the instructions online and you can give it to four year olds too. J and I popped our little pills and we both feel much better. YAY!

Now, it is not a miracle, I still have a scratchy throat and a the need to blow my nose still is there, but it is downgraded by at least half. Where I was barely functioning on Monday, I just finished cleaning my whole main floor, including vacuuming the ever shedding dogs (this winter is wreaking havoc on their coat, they don’t know whether or not to shed or bulk back up and thus I have had enough of both the snow and their fur). Which leaves me time this afternoon to work on my projects. YAY!

I have the chocolate molding ready to make the bugs for J’s cake. Hopefully we can do it together this afternoon, I made extra so he could play with some too. I am excited to see how they all turn out. And if they don’t you can bet I will be picking up some pre-made sugar ones from the cake shop.

I have also started working on my “Pay It Forward” projects. They are coming along nicely, but I won’t post photos until they are received by their recipients.

And, silly me, signed up for Martha Stewart’s Easter Workshop. So, I have a few little Easter projects on the go. And I say silly me because I already have so much going on. But, since Easter is so early this year I didn’t want to forget once again to dye the eggs I blew out years ago. So, I have a few little crafties going on to help make it feel more like Spring.

With yet another Winter Storm blowing through, it sure doesn’t feel like Spring is on the way anytime soon (This is a photo of my already shoveled driveway.  And we are only halfway through the storm.).