Happy Birthday Uncle Derek!

Hope you have a good one!

Thirteen Things that Helped Me in the First Year of Parenting 1 Receiving blankets –Like Monica said you can’t imagine how much those little guys leak 2 Rocking chair –There’s just something to be said about rocking your little bundle of joy to sleep 3 Plug in bottle warmer-This is awesome for road trips! Although I didn’t realize at first that it actually takes like 15 minutes to warm it up from ice cold state to a nice warm. 4 Baby sling-I don’t think Joseph and I would have survived one unbearable hot summer without this thing to be able to walk around the neighbourhood in a diaper but still be covered from everyone’s view 5 Baby backpack –Alex was really into the whole baby wearing movement and loved to be close to mama –a lot 6 Jolly Jumper – This was such good exercise for my babies and they got such absolute joy out of it! To this day they love jumping –hence the Bouncer which fits snug as a bug in my playroom. 7 Baby monitor- For the freedom of being downstairs and not worrying about not hearing the baby or being able to sit around the fire at the cottage and not wonder if the boys are still sleeping 8 Stroller – I’ve gotten so much use out of my stroller that I’ll need a replacement if/when the next baby comes around. It’s a Graco and it was fabulous! Easy to fold, does corners great, has the cupholder for me 9 Diaper Genie- I survived without one for Joseph because he was in cloth mostly but when I started with the dayhome it was a definite must have, especially in the beginning when most of the kids were in diapers. Picture a hot day of plus 30 weather and not having a diaper pail?!? Gross! 10 Ocean Aquarium crib toy- Alex is 3 and still has his on his dresser, if he wakes up in the middle of the night I can usually just turn it on and it gives just enough light and soft noises that he’ll doze back to sleep 11 A giant purse –I think when Alex was about 6 months we ditched the diaper bag most of the time and I just started carrying around a bottle/diaper/wipes in my purse for the relatively short trips shopping or to the park 12 Sheepskin rug- My boys both loved this for the softness and texture/feel. It was very soothing for them. 13 Gripe water- There was one certain brand that we used that worked like a charm for the boys’ colic, which wasn’t often, and it smelled like licorice…yummy….both of their eyes would light up when they seen it, I’m not sure if it was from the taste or if they associated it with relief from whatever it was that was bothering them.

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Joseph brought home his 1st 'can I keep it?'

Alright, I know the pictures aren't that great but it really is a slug.  Ew Ew Ew!  I was sweeping the kitchen floor and Joseph walks in the backdoor and says 'look at my friend Mom' so I thought it was a ladybug or something kind of cute.  Then I seen it...then I screamed...AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!...and managed to scare the heck out of poor Joseph so he dropped the slug and just about started crying and I was still screaming AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Pick It Up! Get It Outside Right Now! I'm afraid I'm just not a bug fan.  Joseph didn't know what was wrong with the slug and couldn't fathom why his good ole mom was losing it! So, I tried to explain to him that his new 'friend' had to live outside and he was very upset -hence the pictures of Joseph and his friend.  I convinced him to put him back outside and we tried to find a suitable home. I was trying to convince Joseph to put him in a flower pot with some soil but when I turned around he was already in a sand castle bucket with some grass for food.  Ah, what a thoughtful boy I've got.  Although I looked in on his 'friend' tonight and he wasn't exactly moving around so he may not have survived the trauma of being manhandled by my boy. 

The dayhome meeting was tonight, a few new faces, lots of interesting topics including the bad dayhome operator/psychic hotline lady.  We learned tonight that we do not have to disclose our social insurance number to our clients.  They need our name, phone number and full address as well as receipts and if that is not sufficient than Revenue Canada can request it from us directly.  I didn't know that up until tonight so I've been giving it to my parents but one provider brought up the point that how do you know that the parents aren't claiming more than they've actually paid you? I suppose you don't know that and if they're audited than that's their problem because they wouldn't have the receipts from myself...I guess that's like any other thing that you claim, if you can't prove it on paper and get audited than you're caught red-handed.

When did my little boy grow up?

Tonight as I was cleaning up after dinner my boys were dancing around the living room as usual and then Joseph starts doing some break dancing moves and not just putting his hands on the floor/bum in the air going around in circles - I'm talking about moving his arms kind of in a popping fashion and doing spins...and then here's the clincher...he yells out to Alex "yo Dawg, whassup?"

I guess I just wanted to keep my baby as baby Joey and not this grown up little Joseph because I wasn't ready or expecting it.

Thank goodness his bus driver told me that he's outgrown the carseat...I think I was totally in denial about that. He was using a booster/carseat but I guess it's a little babyish for him. You know when I did sit back and think about it, he is in Kindergarten and not many kids his age are in a (eek) carseat. So now he's just got the discreet little wedge that no one really sees. I feel like such a schmuck some days!

Yoga is not my friend!....says Post # 301....

Christina, I have no idea how you could subject your body to Yoga every Thursday night at the Y !?! Tonight I was feeling pretty svelt and thought I was pretty hot stuff and thought I'd take the drop in yoga "beginner" class...yeah right...it was only meant for skinny women in spandex that could actually put their foot behind their head. I was so out of my league but like the trooper I am I stuck it out for the entire hour and managed to not throw up until I was nearly home. Was it too much stretching or did I gulp down too much water too fast?!?

This is how we spent our weekend

It was UFC #63 last night at the Beck house, the guys watched pay-per-view and the girls watched Joseph drop the hammer on Papa and introduce him to 'dialing up the pain' - Joseph's new catch phrase

And during the day I took my boys to the zoo for some fresh air and exercise...it only cost me a 512 MB memory card for me camera...sigh...and my spare battery for my camera...sigh....so it was actually an expensive outing...

Here's the boys posing in front of the deer..they may look a bit over dressed but it was actually only plus 4 when we left the house although halfway through our outing I ended up carrying 3 coats and 2 hats. 

 

What do mean she's having a baby?

The boys just realized last night that Auntie Heather is really having a baby!

Capri was finished with the cradle so we brought it home and last night I washed the bedding for it and the boys were really interested in who was supposed to be in the cradle.  They're not dumb, they realize a cradle is for a baby but they just weren't too sure where the baby was coming from.  When I said that it was Auntie that was going to have a baby, they freaked! We've talked about it before but never got this type of reaction.  I tell you it was craziness! Joseph was running in circles saying Auntie's going to have a baaaaaby...I wish I had the video camera!

Why, Why, Why ???

Why do we press harder on a remote control when we know the batteries are getting weak?

Why do banks charge a fee on "insufficient funds" when they know there is not enough?

Why does someone believe you when you say there are four billion stars, but check when you say the paint is wet?

Why doesn't glue stick to the bottle?

Why do they use sterilized needles for death by lethal injection?

Why doesn't Tarzan have a beard?

Why does Superman stop bullets with his chest, but ducks when you throw a revolver at him?

Why do Kamikaze pilots wear helmets?

Whose idea was it to put an "S" in the word "lisp"?

If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes?

Why is it that no matter what color bubble bath you use the bubbles are always white?

Is there ever a day that mattresses are not on sale?

Why do people constantly return to the refrigerator with hopes that something new to eat will have materialized?

Why do people keep running over a string a dozen times with their vacuum cleaner, then reach down, pick it up, examine it, then put it down to give the vacuum one more chance?

Why is it that no plastic bag will open from the end on your first try?

When we are in the supermarket and someone rams our ankle with a shopping cart then apologizes for doing so, why do we say, "It'! s all right?" Well, it isn't all right, so why don't we say, "That hurt, you stupid idiot?"

Thirteen Things You'll Probably Find at a Party Hosted By ****LESLEY**** 1. Surprise dip - although it's really not a surprise anymore 2. Really good music that you can kind of zone out and bop along to if you feel the need 3. Cindy's punch - 2 L of gingerale, 1 can of frozen mango juice and my special ingredient 1 jar of maraschino cherries juice and all 4. A minimum of 3 somewhat cheesy games 5. Lots of good prizes 6. Candles burning everywhere for ambience and to mask all dayhome odours 7. At least 6 chairs courtesy of 'the college', hey they may not be fancy but they stack and take up very little room 8. One buffet raid by Aaron -although we know he's secretly just checking to see if women always have naked pillowfights when we're left alone 9. A hostess -in costume- 10. A theme for the event and ridiculous name to go with it 11. My sister Heather -who's always up for a good little sister party 12. A door banner that says 'the party's here' 13. Lots of food - don't eat before attending one of my parties! <

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It's only 4:30 and all of the dayhome kids are gone already :)

What a lovely surprise to have that extra hour to spend with my boys before Aaron comes home! Yeah right! I tried to play with the boys and they just want to do their own thing in the backyard so here I am blogging to past the time away.
We had a wonderful day today, there was a new 3 1/2 year old boy that's going to come Wednesday mornings and he totally just fit right in with Alex and Ben. It's amazing how kids can form a friendship in the first five minutes of meeting, whereas a lot of grown ups need a lot longer to make that leap of faith and start a conversation with a stranger.
I remember when I first had Joseph, I had big plans of playdates, baby classes and Mommy's groups - not much happened though. We lived in an older neighbourhood and I just wasn't ready to make that jump into the unknown world of making friends as a grownup. Then we moved to Mackenzie and I had bigger plans of playdates, Mommy's groups and all that especially since I had another boy on the way and then I encountered the clicques at the park where the mom's were already friends with other mom's and didn't feel the need to talk to me or try and keep my feeble attempts at conversation going. I even encountered one snob that ignored me completely and started making phone calls while I pushed Joseph and her daughter in the swings.
Well...all that's changed, I'm not sure how or why but all of a sudden I've got a ton of friends with kids of all ages and I have no problem meeting new people (or wearing an inflatable penis and men's underwear in front of a crowd of just-about strangers - LOL -by the way did anyone get a picture of that?)and I feel compelled to include the shy mom's at the park in my chitchat with the neighbourhood mommies.
In summary...I hope my children stay just the way they are today -accepting new people for who they are, no questions asked and willing to take that step into unknown territory.

This acutally should have been a Monday post but we were at the hospital

Our emergency turned out to be nothing at all. I went to the gym last night and came home to find Alex passed out on the sofa with ice on his very swollen fingers, apparently he was playing on the elliptical trainer when Aaron had taken a first call for work. So I rushed him to the hospital and 2 doctors checked him and said he was fine but because of his broken arm 2 summers ago I didn't want to wait a day and find out they really were broke...anyhow...I left my house at 8:42 and arrived back home at 10:18! Only an hour and a half for the entire trip which is unheard of if it involves going to a Calgary hospital. Alex didn't even get to watch the entire Shrek movie, we started it on the beginning of our journey and when we got home it was right before the Pinocchio/thong scene.
By the time Alex settled down to sleep it was 11:30 and here it is 7 in the morning and he's already been up for an hour. This child of mine must be an insomniac because he typically only sleeps for 8 hours which is quite lower than the typical 12 hours "they" say he should have.

***That was supposed to be a HAPPY MONDAY picture of Joseph***

It definitely looks and feels like a pajama day to me!

We've also got the same gloomy and wet forecast as Mom does. It's kind of depressing actually, especially when you can hear the furnace kick in before you get out of bed, that just confirms what you already know...yep..it's damn cold in the house!

Last night I went out with a blogger pal-Jenn to celebrate her birthday and met some people. I must say that although I was somewhat of an introvert in my younger years I must have switched over to an extrovert somewhere along the lines. I found a lot in common with the ladies: authors, music, and of course kids therefore it was pretty easy to just sit back, relax and socialize!

I even heard my first McInnis & Holloway (Aaron's company) joke last night, Jenn told Susan that Aaron was a funeral director and where and Susan who formerly worked in geriatric care said 'oh yes I'm familiar with them we call McInnis & Haul-away often.' I don't know how I've never heard that before but it was hilarious!

I also learned last night that I really need to have a Pampered Chef party or at least attend one to get all these cool gadgets. Apparently they have a microwavable food steamer that's the greatest. 3 out of 4 women had it one their list of top 3 kitchen gadgets to have...guess who doesn't have one?

Something new

Thirteen Feel Good Songs of ***Lesley's*** 1) Sweet Caroline I've never karaoked better than that night with my cousins, pathetic but true! 2) Cotton Eyed Joe I remember my old friend Debbie Norton used to sing this song with such enthusiasm it was contagious! 3) Paradise By the Dashboard Lights Aah, that makes me think of high school dances, and when Dad took H and I to see Meatloaf in concert 4) Eternal Flame That was our wedding song...sigh...although thanks to our DJ it was almost Walk Like an Egyptian 5) Ice Ice Baby I first heard this song at Diane Desroches 13th birthday party which is a nice memory and if Aaron had a theme song for himself it would definitely be this one...it's on almost all of his mixed CDs 6) Rasputin This is played at every wedding and it must makes you want to dance and sing along 7) Saturday Night This was a classic from my graduating year of high school, lots of good times there... 8) Dancing Queen How can you not like ABBA? Kathryn, Liz and I seen Bjorn Again (an ABBA knockoff) and it was fabulous, as close to the real thing as I'll ever get 9) Hollaback Girl Last year on a road trip of just me and the boys they were singing along with Mommy as loud as can be...although they honestly just said shh instead of the naughty word 10) Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy It's just one catchy tune that I can't resist 11) Pictures Actually anything by Nickelback they've got awesome songs where you can actually understand what they're singing and can sing along too 12) Jump Around That totally makes me think back to the days I lived in Kingston, this song was like a theme song at any party 13) Anything from the 80s!

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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Now it's my turn to rant and rave!

If you tip this one sideways, Frankenstein spins around...lots of fun for the kiddies!

Usually I'd talk on and on about stamping but not tonight...

There is definitely something seriously wrong with our child care system: 

You need a license to drive but you don't need a license to watch 6 children under the age of 12 in your home. 

You need a license to catch a fish but you don't need a license to care for up to 3 children under the age of 2 in your home + up to 3 more children under the age of 12.

You need a license to build a deck in your backyard but you don't need a license to do what you see as "fit" for other people's children in the privacy of your own home.

The police cannot intervene in a bad dayhome situation to close it down and child services cannot intervene in a bad dayhome situation unless they have exceeded the maximum number of children at one residence. 

This definitely needs to be changed, although I have no idea how to do it?!? Where do I begin? What do I do?

My boys favourite past times!

Alex was trying to "help" me make pancakes this weekend.  Unfortunately I was upstairs cleaning and totally unaware of his master plan!

And Joseph is still addicted to fresh peas, he won't touch canned or frozen but will a one pound bag at one sitting if given the option.

September 11th

Like most bloggers today I'm writing about where I was when I heard the news. I was headed to work at the school and stopped in at Tucker's to give Susie a hand and catch up on the latest gossip. As I walked in the door she said 'those f***ers finally did it and managed to take down a tower'. I honestly had no idea what she was talking about, the Petro Canada building? the Calgary Tower? and then I heard the reports on the radio. I was shocked, things like this happen on TV or it's stuff you learn about in History class, and now it's something that my children will be learning about in History class someday.
So, I carried on to school and unbelievably no one had heard anything, well in all fairness I think there were only 2 other people there when I came in. Being a very multi-cultural school where the whites are the minority a lot of our students weren't allowed to leave their homes. The parents feared the kids would be beaten up by classmates. It was truly heartbreaking, trying to console a parent on the phone and trying to understand their fears.
Kathryn and I were already partners in crime in the Kindergarten class and kept each other company for the day. We both remember sitting at the little round yellow table and hearing an airplane overhead and silently freaking out. Lucky for us the kindergarten kids really weren't sure what the heck was going on so we tried to have a normal day. Tried as we may have , it was something I hope we never have to relive again.

What do you do with all of your pennies?

This may be considered cruel and unusual punishment but I throw all of my pennies in my ashtray in the van and use them for drive-thru purposes only. The way I see it is if I have to wait in line long enough to dig thru all of my change and count out 17 pennies then they deserve them!
Aaron finds this almost as embarrassing as asking for a cheeseburger with extra pickles and no ketchup. Lucky for Mom that he loves her enough to do it anyways, ha ha!

Crazy dayhome ladies give us good dayhome operators a bad name!

It all started a few months ago when I went to the dayhome registry ladies night and heard that a former operator in Douglasdale (who was closed down) is now back in business. So, I enjoyed my cocktails and kind of just tucked that bit of info in the back of my head - until - a former client mentioned that she found a dayhome in the same neighbourhood. And of course I found out the name of the nasty lady and sure as shit it's the same lady. So now my client is trying to re-coup her deposit and is stressed about what may have been. Although this is all 3rd party info this woman apparently used tylenol/gravol as a naptime aide. Doesn't that just make you sick? The police were involved and social services and I'm sure they'll be alerted that she's back in the business.

I googled her name and found out that she's also running a psychic hotline out of her home. Honestly! I can't make this stuff up!

So for all you parents out there looking for a good dayhome, you may want to google them first.

What went wrong Auntie Anne?

After experiencing your chocolate fountain I decided that I just had to have one too, so I checked around and bought the Rival one at Linens -N-Things. I think it's the same one that you've got Auntie Anne...so...
tonight we had Kathryn and Jeff over for dinner and I decided that we'd debut the fountain and boy what a mess. I don't think we got the chocolate consistency right because it sure didn't flow very well so we added some more oil and when that didn't work we got creative and added chocolate milk...at least it was chocolatey.
Does it really matter that I used no-name chocolate chips?!
We dunked everything in the bowl and had a good laugh if nothing else...any tips Auntie Anne?

Congrats to Kathryn and Jeff for buying a house in Cochrane, now I'll only have to drive an hour to visit instead of 5 or 6! Alex has already decided where he's sleeping -next to Hamish their chocolate lab. LOL!

First Day of Kindergarten!

Joseph woke up in his usual cheerful self! Until he heard those magic words...
"It's almost time for school!"
All was good once he was on the bus!

Joseph had a great first day, no tears or incidents and seemed happy when he came home. Alex and the other dayhome kids were a bit lost without him though!

Only one more sleep until school!

The boys playing at the Morinville waterpark

Can you believe how hot it was this weekend?

How you doin'?

We had a great weekend up North! The boys got optimal hot tub time, no less than 4 hours per day! They sure were pruny by the end! Joseph is getting more and more adventurous with his swimming techiniques and uses a face mask under water and actually tries to "swim" in the hot tub.  Alex is a little more cautious but has mastered blowing bubbles.  So, I think we'll be trying to get them in swim classes pretty quick!

We did end up joining the Family Leisure Centre so we'll be swimming with the boys hopefully once a week at least. 

Joseph and Alex were both sound asleep at 7:30! Yippee! You gotta love the school year routine of early to rise/early to bed! It makes life a little easier around the house and then I don't feel guilty about sneaking out to stamping or Bunco because the boys will most likely be sleeping already.  Well, I'm not sure I ever feel "guilty" but it definitely tugs at the heart strings when they're crying for me to stay home because we were having so much fun playing.

Mom and I were mapping out a few fall parties I'm in the midst of planning and boy oh boy I don't know where we'll fit it all in! I've got Kathryn and mine's (sorry for the bad grammer but I'm not sure the correct phrase) Wedding Themed Ladies Night/Partylite...the ladies will be playing wedding inspired games such as Name That First Dance and taking a wedding quiz, bringing their albums and reminiscing about all the things that may have or did actually go wrong.  And then there's the birthday list, Cindy's is the 7th so we'll have to get together for a playdate for the kids and adult socializing, Jenn's birthday is mid-September and she's planned a Ladies Night for dinner and dancing - yahoo! Then there's the kids birthday parties, Danny is Joseph's best friend (besides Alex) and he'll be 4 at the end of September, Easton will be 2 in October, as well as Joseph's 5th birthday which we've decided will be a Superhero theme party...only 25 pounds between me and a Wonder Woman costume...ha ha...plus there's Bunco nights the last Friday of the month, stamping on the 2nd Tuesday of the month, Skating on Thursdays, the Christmas Cookie Exchange, Thanksgiving, Aaron wants to host a Christmas party this year as well, and start his own monthly Poker night...and of course the arrival of Jonathan which means more party planning......honestly folks I'm in heaven...if  I could do parties for a living I think I would!