Where's Jonny?

Aaron and I are planning on redecorating the living room. Nothing fancy, new paint, a new mirror for over the fireplace/mantle and we're adding a collage picture frame.

So...

I picked out 10 pics and taped them all in which is somewhat tedious and then when all is said and done I realized:

AUNTIE LESLEY DIDN'T PUT IN A JONATHAN PICTURE, AAGH!

Needless to say I ran right out and got some printed so I can fix that before we hang it on the wall, although I guess we should probably paint first.

On a totally seperate note, another Blogger friend has done some informal research on determining gender via a chinese gender chart (which I can't figure out how to make a link to) and her faithful blog readers and I want to know if you had the option of choosing what sex your baby would be, would you?

Are you sponge worthy?

I am an avid slipper wearer in the winter time and have recently converted to Spong's. They are so comfy to wear!

A special thanks to Alex my foot photographer :)

Say Chuck E Cheese!

What to do what to do??

We've finally decided to build a garage. Aaron is ecstatic, I suppose I'll enjoy not scraping windows next winter too.
So, we've gotten 2 quotes so far
#1 is $18000 and said they can start April 10th and will be done in about 10 days
#2 is $26500 and said they can start mid-May and it would take 1-2 months to complete depending on weather
Our third option is to build it ourselves. This way it would only cost about $10000-12000 but we'd have to do it ourselves. We'd save a lot of money but it would be a lot of labour and would take away from family time.
I think we'll probably end up doing it ourselves. I'm shuddering just thinking about it...we're also going to level off the backyard and re-sod so it'll mean a muddy yard for awhile and a gaudy temporary snowfence and trips to the park with the dayhome kids rather then backyard time. But as a family we'll be reaping the benefits: with the money saved it'll pay for either a hot tub with a good locking system to keep the kiddies out, or our family holiday to Disneyland or Disney cruise.

Anyways...

Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking my two boys to Chuck E Cheese. Woot woot! I'm Wonder Woman! We met up with Joey's best friend Danny and his family. The boys had a great time, Alex found 2 games he really liked : Ninja Turtles arcade game and a fishing arcade game. Jospeh was all over the place but seemed to like playing basketball the best. I think it's because Victor (Danny's dad) pretended to dunk him in the hoop and Joseph that it was hilarious! Wish I could have gotten a picture of that. And as we were leaving I noticed that this fine family establishment serves wine and beer. Andrea and I are already planning the next visit to be during the evening so we can indulge a little...providing that Aaron and Victor come with us of course.

It's All About Alex

Alex thought he needed his own video today...

Thursday Thirteen

This may seem a little strange but here's 13 of my favourite smells...

1. newborn babies, I can't explain it but they have a unique scent
2. Spring Water candles by Partylite
3. White Diamonds, it's my latest scent, kind of old ladyish
4. Waterbaby sunscreen, I used to joke about it and call it Joey's 'baby cologne', one of Aaron's coworkers didn't understand my sense of ha ha and inquired as to where one would buy 'Baby Ocean'. The Gap? Body Shop?
5. Turkey, we really should cook more than 2 a year
6. sauteed onions and garlic
7. banana bread
8. Drakkar, it's Aaron's signature scent and smells awesome
9. Lavender and Chamomile baby powder, one of my dayhome babies is addicted to it
10. rain
11. Starbucks
12. anything cucumber
13. Poison, I fell in love with it years and years ago. My parents thought I bathed in the stuff but I didn't, it's just really strong. Since then I've had the Tendre Poison, Hypnotic Poison which is kind of vanilla-y and now they've come up with a Pure Poison which I'd like for my birthday if anyone's looking for ideas...

I am a dayhome guru!

Well, I'm trying not to brag but that's how I feel sometimes. Last night I went to the monthly dayhome meeting and I came home feeling great. I was asked a ton of great questions and for my opinions on various situations. I seem to be a wealth of information to those just starting out although I do have some homework for next month's meeting...which I'm hosting (surprise Aaron, I forgot to mention it). Some days I think it's not worth all the effort of emailing and answering questions but nights like last night make it all worthwhile. We seem to have quite a few regulars to our meetings now whereas in the beginning the meetings were so spread apart and attendance was so horrible that I don't think we ever really felt like they were useful. But now, we know each other by name and are making connections.

I've been tagged again

Top 10 Tunes

I actually don't own an Ipod but here's some music on my MP3:

1. Numb vs. Encore (Jay-Z/Lincoln Park)
2. I'm Sorry Ms. Jackson (Outkast)
3. Sexyback (Justin Timberlake)
4. Promiscous Girl (Nelly Furtado)
5. Wind It Up (Gwen Stefani)
6. Save a Horse Ride a Cowboy (Big n Rich)
7. Shut Up (Black Eyed Peas)
8. London Bridge (Fergie)
9. Sofia (Live)
10. Lips of An Angel (Hinder)

I'm afraid the list is mostly recent ones, no hidden gems. Except maybe Live, I love their music. They're to me what BNL are to Jenn :)

Oh, I forgot Rasputin by Boney-M! Now there's something to get everyone up and dancing!

I'm tagging Jeremy - my music obsessed (and admitted) cousin!

Monday, Monday da dum da da da dum...Mama's & the Papa's

I love the Mama's & the Papa's, I'm sure I still have their Greatest Hits cassette kicking around somewhere. Eek..cassette...I'm dating myself, am I not?

So, I'll back track a bit to Saturday:

The birthday party was successful, Joseph had a great time although Alex cried his eyes out because he wanted to stay with Joseph because he loves him (sniff sniff), he misses him (sniff sniff) and he's nice to his brother Alex (sniff sniff). It was so cute (at first) to hear all of the reasons why Alex thought he should be allowed to stay with the partygoers.

Saturday night I headed over to Jacquie's for her Arbonne Business Launch. It was totally informative and gave me a ton of food for thought. I'd heard of the company casually but had know idea what kind of stuff they sell or the quality of their products and let me tell you I was so impressed. So, impressed that I phoned Usana this morning to cancel my auto -ship membership with them so I can switch to the Arbonne stuff. Jacquie sent me home with her tester kit for three days and I've used it 5 times and my skin looks different and feels different.

My metrosexual husband is going to try the Men's line, it's about time companies started to realize that guys like to look hot and have nice smooth skin too! Well, besides shaving stuff.

Sunday was a wedding extravaganza! Kathryn, Nadine, Liz and I went to the Bridal Fair and checked out a million booths. I'm not sure we walked away with any new ideas but it was a lot of fun and the male models dancing around in their kilts was absolutely brilliant! Kathryn's going to request "Let's Get it Started" and expect Aaron to shake his moneymaker in his kilt at her wedding. I hope she's prepared for it, because he'll do it!

Last night Aaron subjected my poor eyes to Snakes on a Plane. Gag! That just about sums it up.

That brings us to today. It was nice to get back into routine, Joseph only has school until Wednesday and is then off until Monday (Parent/Teacher interviews). So, hopefully his schedule doesn't get too off track. It will be a nice break though. Saturday we're going to hit the zoo with Kathryn, Jeff and their 5 year old niece Taylor. Weather permitting of course.

Hope everyone else had a great weekend!

TGI Haircut today tomorrow!

Both boys totally take after Aaron when it comes to their hair. Joseph's is super thick and Alex's is wavy. Poor Joseph asked me to spike his hair yesterday for school and this is why he's getting a haircut tomorrow - it just doesn't work...

Thursday Thirteen

Here are 13 Games That We Like to Play

1. Scrabble
2. Balderdash - guaranteed Dad will win every time
3. Horseshoes - weather permitting in the summer time
4. Scattagories - yes, Jem and Holograms starts with a J not G
5. Sequence - which is especially lonnnng when Joseph wants to play too
6. Chess - borrring, that's one of Aaron's favourites
7. Boggle - I think that's a girl thing, I don't know any men who play it, willingly anyways
8. Trivia Pursuit - any edition, although I actually do well at the Totally 80s edition, go figure
9. Scene It - Aaron bought me this for Christmas and it's really fun
10. Deal or No Deal - Lucie gifted Mom and Dad this for Christmas and it's a riot,unless Dad's your host, el-cheap-o
11. Yahtzee- Joseph loves his yahtzee!
12. Uno - another family fave
13. Name That Tune - yeah, I know I'm a geek, you don't have to remind me!

Death by Chocolate

Surprisingly enough I know someone without Internet. What the heck? So, she's hosting a party and wants to do a Death by Chocolate theme and will be serving chocolate yum yums. What are your favourite chocolate recipes? I don't need the entire recipe just the name of it like "chocolate cream pie" or "white chocolate/cranberry loaf". I thought maybe this way she'd get a few different ideas than fondue, brownies and fudge. And it would stop me from just picking out the stuff I want her to make...which I would then have to eat, so essentially you're literally saving my ass on this one! Ha ha!
And I know at least 10 people read my blog daily so please give me your idea! I'll return the favour and be sure to drop by and comment on whatever you've got up for the day.
Maybe for my meme I should have said the one word to describe me the best would be 'resourceful'. I truly am, if you're ever in need of baby stuff or kid stuff, give me a call first because if I don't have it usually I know someone that does. I'm still looking out for a big playhouse and a daybed for our cousin if anyone knows anyone who's selling/giving away.

A thinking meme from one blogger to another

1. If you had to choose one vice in exclusion of all others, what would it be?
Bread. Hi. I'm Lesley. And I'm a carb-addict. That says it all!

2. If you could change one specific thing about the world, what would it be?
People would live to better the world instead of die trying to fix it.

3. Name the cartoon character you identify with the most.
Donkey from Shrek (I know he's computer animated, but close enough). He's fun to be around, is a loyal friend, will be there for you to cry with, laugh with or tell silly jokes to. I also cannot sing.

4. If you could live one day of your life over again, which one would it be?
The day Joseph was born. After 18 hours of labour he was born via c-section. When he weighed in at 10 pounds 1 ounce I realized it was like trying to push an egg through a drinking straw. His head was just too big!

5. If you could go back in history and spend a day with one person, who would it be?
My Nannie Johnston. I visited her a lot but one more day would be great!

6. What is one thing that you lost, sold or threw away that you wish you had back?
My Clairol Lock N' Roll curlers. I donated them to Value Village when I cut my hair short and then bought the exact set back a year or so later.

7. What is your one most important contribution to this world?
Besides my rockin' boys, I'd have to say my part in the dayhome industry. I have quite a few operators that contact me regularly for support and or information. I have a very support circle of friends and family that I can talk to or count on for that shoulder to cry on but a lot of operators don't have that support.

8. What is your one hidden talent that nearly no one knows about?
I can wax pretty much painfree now. I used to spend about $1500-2000 on waxing services alone each year and decided to polish my technique. Some procedures require a 4 pack of Bacardi Breezers first..just kidding...maybe.

9. What is your most cherished possession?
My wedding band. It represents what's important to me - family.

10. What one person influenced your life the most when growing up?
I think the most growing up I've done is over the past ten years so I'd have to say Aaron, my husband. I believe we've done a lot of growing up together. I was 18 when we met and by 19 we'd bought our first home together, then got married and had kids...you know, the grown up stuff.

11. What word describes you better than any other?
Social. I love meeting new people! I can talk to almost anyone about just about anything. I have a good time whether I'm a guest at someone's home or if I'm hosting an event at my own home. I love to email, blog and talk on the phone. I think my blogging is probably my way socializing with all of my spread out family.

That was definitely a thinker Jenn! I'm glad you tagged me though, got me thinking! I'll tag Michelle, Natalie and hmm...Monica. I don't think I've seen a meme on any of your blogs...yet!

I had a visit from my nephew today and didn't take a single picture

The novelty of having a nephew and being an official Auntie Lesley has not worn off but Jonathan was asleep for most of the visit and when he was awake he was having a diaper/outfit change.
Heather isn't a daily updater on the blogs so I'll fill you in

HE'S GORGEOUS AND HAS AUNTIE LESLEY'S FABULOUS EYEBROWS! WOOT WOOT!

Seriously though, he's a very good babe, eats well and gives Heather almost an 8 hour sleep each night. Today he tried out a bottle of mummy milk and although he didn't take to it that great I think he may have given it a whole hearted attempt. Maybe they'll try again in a few days.

So, Melanie now that Christmas is finally over what's new and exciting? And Candice, where are all the fabulous pics now that you're back in the land of the high speed internet. Okay, maybe not all the pics but at least a couple!

Look what I found in my bed last night

Aaron and I were watching a movie last night downstairs and had tucked both boys in beforehand but came upstairs to find this
So I moved him back to his own bed and he was out like a light...

You want a what ???

Shot
The standard one fluid ounce serving of espresso. Each well "pulled" shot is composed of three layers: the heart, the body and the crema - the top layer of caramel-colored foam that starts to dissipate seconds after the shot is poured.
Espresso (E-SPRE'-SO)
The concentrated coffee "essence" brewed from our own Espresso Roast beans. Espresso is served alone in a demitasse or used as the basis for one of our specialty beverages.
Espresso Con Pana (E-SPRE'-SO CONE PA'-NA)
A shot of espresso capped with a dollop of whipped cream.
Espresso Macchiato (E-SPRE'-SO MA-KEE-AH'-TOE)
A shot of espresso capped with a light lid of foamed milk.
Caffè Latte (KA-FAY' LA'-TAY)
A soothing beverage composed of three layers: a freshly drawn shot of espresso, milk steamed and poured to fill the cup and finally, a quarter-inch dollop of foamed milk to create a delicate first impression. A Latte Macchiato is made in a similar fashion to a Caffè Latte except the espresso is poured over the steamed milk, thus "marking" the milk.
Caffè Mocha (KA-FAY' MO'-KAH)
A classic combination of a freshly pulled espresso shot and highest quality chocolate blended with fresh steamed milk. Often topped with a dollop of whipped cream and a light sprinkling of cocoa powder.
Cappuccino (KA-PU-CHEE'-NO)
A typical Italian breakfast beverage using less steamed milk and more foamed milk than the Caffè Latte. Cappuccino can be ordered "dry" for an extra foamy cup or "wet" for a more milky drink.
Caffè Americano (KA-FAY' A-MER-I-CAH'-NO)
Our deep, rich espresso combined with hot water. The result is a cup of full-flavored coffee with the distinct taste of espresso.
Single
A one fluid ounce serving of straight espresso, served alone or with steamed milk in an espresso beverage. The standard for most short and tall espresso drinks.
Double
Two one fluid ounce servings of straight espresso. This is the standard for Grande and Venti beverages, but if you want your tall Caffè Latte doubly strong, you'd better ask.
Short
At Starbucks, an eight fluid ounce beverage, perfect for an after-dinner coffee.
Tall
At Starbucks, a 12 fluid ounce beverage. This is the most popular size.
Grande
At Starbucks, a 16 fluid ounce beverage. When you need an extra boost.
Non-fat
All the milk, hold the fat. Order a non-fat Caffè Latte if you want skim milk.
No foam
Don't like the way the frothed milk on your Caffè Latte tickles your nose? Order it "no foam," and you'll get only espresso and steamed milk.
Dry
More foam than milk. If you like your Cappuccino really light and airy, order it "dry."
Extra foam
Foam keeps your espresso drink hot, so if you're taking it to go, you might want to order "extra foam."
With room
Short for "I'd like to add cream to my Americano, so please leave me some room in my cup."
Whip
Short for "whipped cream." Want to save a few calories in your Caffè Mocha? Order it "no whip."
Vanilla, Hazelnut, Caramel, Almond
Add this to your order if you'd like a shot of flavor syrup added to your beverage.

I'm trying to learn the coffee lingo in case I want to venture past my usual Caramel Macchiato(Starbucks) or Caramel Corretto(Second Cup) and am a bit confused and overwhelmed. Maybe I'll just switch to tea or hot chocolate!

I don't have blogger burnout - really...

it's the evil Beta blogger that's not letting me post and it's been super frustrating so I've not been as persistent as I usually am.
Last night we finished Kathryn's wedding invites...that is angels singing Hallelujah in the background! We still have to print menus and tie the wedding favour ribbons on and then we're good to go for the crafty stuff I think....except for a card box, and collecting stuff for the bathroom baskets, and the guest book. Okay I better stop now, I thought we were done a lot but apparently there's still a lot to do.
Tonight we're having dinner with Kathryn and Jeff and other than that I think we're going to hang around the house this weekend. We had plans for a trip to Banff but with -10 forecasted I think we'd enjoy it more inside than outside.
It's a super quiet dayhome day today, just one little guy who's napping and a couple 3 years old boys with my own two boys. It's strange not having girls today, it kind of changes the dynamics a little bit. As much as the 2 girls keep up to the boys, they do play differently than boys.
Have a great weekend everyone!
And thanks to my darling cuz, I'll also be supervising a few boxing matches between my boys. Stay tuned for pictures of future black eyes....just kidding - it was a fabulous gift. I just hope Monica and JJ have a boy! But really, if you have a girl I think you should call her Alexe.

Thursday Thirteen

13 Childhood Girlfriends
1. Natalie Martin - I went to school with her in Ralston so, so many years ago and kept in touch with her until I moved to Calgary
2. Stacey McMillan - I also went to school with her in Ralston but lost touch with her when we moved to Victoria
3. Bobbi-Lynn Parker - We shared a duplex in Victoria and wrote a few letters over the next few years
4. Nora Desjardins - I'm not sure we were exactly girlfriends but we did re-connect over the last couple years and I certainly enjoy her emails
5. Diane DesRoches - We went to school together in PEI, that was a place where it was really hard to make friends, the base was closing and we were bussed to the town school where many peers' parents would soon be out of work
6. Sarah Mawhinney - We went to school together in PEI as well , Sarah lived on the base and we were locker partners
7. April Stoness - I've mentioned April from time to time, we met in Kingston, she was MOH at my wedding and we still talk - maybe not as often as we like but I think of her often
8. Danielle Reid-Brown - She was a wild one! Everyone's got that one crazy friend, well I'm sure Danielle would be it. Originally she was friends with Heather but then H started hanging out with a more grown up crowd and I just wanted to have fun
9. Kelly Biss - We shared a duplex in Kingston and kept in touch when I moved to Calgary and then she moved to Calgary although we've lost touch from losing phone numbers
10. Jamie Bowering - We were friends in Kingston and although we said we were BFF, I think it just wasn't meant to be, she was a total rebel and maybe things are better left alone sometimes
11. Tina MacAdam - We met in high school here in Calgary and have lost touch and reconnected many many times over the years, never really a falling out just busy with life I think. It's funny how things have progressed so now our own children are friends
12. Jen Gellert - We met in the high school that I graduated from. I had a lot of friends in high school but never really got close to anyone. I did enjoy chatting with Jen though, she was a realist, what you see is what you get. She had no interest in playing silly high school games and gossiping. That's my kind of girl!
13. Kathryn Lang - Well Kathryn isn't a childhood girlfriend but we met in school so it must count for something! She's my BFF, we didn't chat as often as I would have liked when she lived in Whitecourt. I think we were both just extremely busy in our lives at that time. Now she's living a few hours closer, but still an hour away and we talk or email almost daily

Okay okay here's a much better video!

I apologize for the jumbo size of the video screen, I can't figure out how to make it a wee bit smaller.
Enjoy the video though!

Wedding Poll

Have you heard "I Knew the Bride When She Used to Rock and Roll"? It's a fab song for weddings and traditionally the wedding guests will form a circle, the bride dances in the middle with a whole bunch of people and it's generally lots of fun.
Well...
Kathryn has never heard of this before and I think I may have scared her a wee bit when I brought it up last night.
So, did you do this at your wedding OR have you seen this done at weddings before?
AND
What would the male equivalent to this song be? If Kathryn agrees to do this than I think it's only fair that Jeff has to as well.

SUPPORT YOUR DAILY( Okay more like Obsessive) BLOGGER (moi)

AND PLEASE COMMENT!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEATHER!

Friday is Heather's birthday so I thought I'd better post it ahead of time. We're off to visit my parents tomorrow and I didn't want to forget it amidst the packing and unpacking and repacking....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

THURSDAY THIRTEEN

13 Foods I Like to Avoid

1. wild animal meat - deer, moose....I'm just not interested in it
2. seafood
3. fish
4. squash
5. fried ham sandwiches - Aaron's favourite but definitely not mine
6. sugar pie - yes, it's a pie made of sugar
7. scalloped potatoes - any other kind but scalloped
8. slippery noodles and gravy
9. pumpkin - even pumpkin pie, sad but true
10. pesto
11. curry
12. weiner water soup ( boiled weiners not fried ) although it's Aaron's gravy of choice, LOL
13. clamato juice - no Caesar's for this girl

Home Improvement 101

Today Aaron and I tried something new, we had the plain old frosting on the windows which we both totally hated so we've replaced it with the faux stained glass.

As much as we like the light we get from the hallway window, neither of us was crazy about seeing into our neighbours house or them being able to see into ours. Not that we're snoopy...

This is the before...yeah I know it's ugly...
This is halfway through our project, see how opaque it is?!
And this is the after look at night time...
And the after look at night with the light on, makes the walls look really yellow, maybe I'll try for a day time after look.

Hmmm...

nothing really blog-tastic happened today to write about.

(WTF?!? , I know you're thinking it)

Today was the first day back for most of my dayhome kids...

Aaron and I contemplated building a new house in the neighbourhood until we discovered that the walkouts weren't in fact walkouts just had a grading back yard so the basement windows were a bit larger than normal. Then we checked out the real walkouts in our neighbourhood on the other side of the traffic circle and just about died when we found out the price...are you ready for this???

$750,000 to $1,000,000

OMG! Makes me feel pretty good about our little mortgage that will be paid off before the boys are in college!

So, I think based on that we're staying in our house for sure. No more babies for us...we're really enjoying the ages that our two boys are at. There's a bit more freedom for us and more options on stuff to do for the whole family. So, we'll be building a garage in the spring and then working on finishing the basement in the winter...and saving for a Disney cruise at Christmas.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Both boys were in a fabulous mood for most of the night.
Me and my girl!
Alex and Mommy at 1:15 and still partying strong...although everyone else had gone to bed.
Jonathan from UFC Fight Night.

New Year's Eve was pretty fun at our house! Kathryn, Hamish and our neighbours came over and we played some games, had some drinks and visited. At 11:55 I turned it to the countdown and discovered that it had already came and went. So, that was that. We missed it. But that's besides the point, we had a good time considering poor Aaron was on call for all the funeral homes...and the only one who had to go to work this morning. Needless to say at 12:30 he was in bed and so was Joseph but little Alex wouldn't go to bed until I was done cleaning up and kept me company. He's definitely a momma's boy!