Thursday Thirteen

13 Things I Love About Myself

1. I still take my kids swimming even though I'm not the hottest thing in a tankini
2. I'm a planner but am pretty easy going if things don't go as planned
3. I look good in turquoise
4. I'm a giving person
5. I can plan a party in less than 24 hours and it will be a successful party
6. I'm outdoorsy and can spend the entire day outside with my kids and love every minute of it
7. I can't hold a grudge
8. I can meet total strangers and find stuff to talk about to avoid awkward silences
9. I'm still 20-something, although that won't last forevah!
10. I'm a good go-to gal if you're looking for baby/kid stuff
11. I don't mind previously owned stuff
12. Thoughtfulness is always more appreciated than price tags with me
13. I can function on 6 hours of sleep a day

Why Can't I Wear Lime Like That?

Tell Me What We're Gonna Do Now Ft. Common
By Joss Stone
CodesAndLyrics.com

How much is too much?

Now that fall is approaching fast ...sniff sniff...so are the afterhours activities.

The boys want to be in hockey this fall. Well, first of all they need to learn to skate! Aaron and I signed them up last fall for lessons and they were almost as painful as watching Wahmber cry her freaking eyes out all night on BB8. (But that's a whole other story, now isn't it?) So, Thing One and Thing Two will be learning to skate Tuesday evenings.

Mommy will be stamping her heart out on 1 Wednesday and 1 Thursday night a month and also enjoying her 1 or 2 Friday nights of Bunco.

Daddy will be playing hockey, gawd only knows when, but it'll be late enough that we can still take the boys to their lessons.

So, getting full circle back to the point of this post - what is too much? How many activities should a 4 and 5.5 year old partake in? One night/week or two nights/week or one night & one daytime weekend class?

The boys would also love to do swimming again but the classes are Mon & Wed and I don't want to push it with activities on 3 school nights. And with Aaron's "wonderful" schedule (insert super dramatic eye roll here) he works 5 of the 8 Saturdays for the weekend program so I'd be on my own.

I'd also like to explore Beavers for Joseph and see if he's interested at all in it. But once again, would it be too much organized activity and not enough random activity.

Does anyone out there know what I mean? I don't want to overload but want them to get the most out of these opportunities too.

My miracle cure

I've been having chronic pain in my left shoulder since about January and kind of just chalked it up to lifting wrong, carrying babies constantly and having a Mommy purse that weighs 5 pounds hanging off my shoulder. Well...I was totally wrong. On a whim I tried Aaron's Arbonne Joint Formula supplements and no word of a lie I took them one evening and when I woke up there was no pain at all. I can't make this shit up folks! The pain was constant, I couldn't even reach up to grab a coffee mug with my left arm and now I can do it all. I was obviously lacking something mucho importanto in my diet for a longgggg time.
Thanks Arbonne! Click here to visit Arbonne.

This is for all you Bill Engvall fans out there!

So there I was late last night chatting with an old girlfriend (old as in high school days not old as in age) and she was telling me about their trip to Holland a couple years back and some of the differences/similarities. Apparently everything is carbonated there. She said she bought an iced tea thinking it would of course be bubble free, being iced tea and all. But no, she unscrewed the lid and heard the schhhhh of carbonation. Once again she stated everything there is carbonated. So I said, even tap water? Hmmm....awkward silence....she's like uh, no. Then I realized what I said I MEANT TO SAY BOTTLED WATER!!! I doubt all the lovely people in Holland have CO2 tanks hooked up to their kitchen sinks to bubble their water. All that was missing was Bill Engvall saying "Here's your sign."

Team Crockett website is up and running - sort of

I've managed to find a quiet moment to personalize our web page a bit more. What I really need is a group shot of our team. We'll have to make a point of making that happen soon...

Here is the link to Team Crockett's site and here is the link to my personal site. I honestly can't remember is I've really talked about the mysterious Team Crockett on the blog yet so I'll give you the in right now.

Along with Aaron, my mom Alberta and dad Joseph (of Lil' Salmon House blog), I will be participating in the 2008 Uncover the Cure 10 K run next June. Yes, I do know that I don't know how to run. But, I also know that this is a very worthy cause that needs more attention than it receives.

Perfect example : What does a pink ribbon stand for? Breast cancer, right? Well, who knows what colour ribbon is for cervical cancers? (No prize will be awarded for correct answers because I am about to post it) Teal. I think a lot of my girlfriends know by default because I wear a lot of that colour and have a signature bracelet which is silver and teal and has a dangly teal ribbon hanging from it. But besides my girlfriends, I don't think it's widely known. Now, why is that?

People talk about other ailments and diseases all the time. I've heard many chats about arthritis and diabetes but not so much about vaginas or rectums. Once again, I'd like to know why that is. Are we too shy and insecure about our bodies? Do we think that we're the only women in the world who have had to lay down on the exam table with our feet in stirrups? Hmm...not likely...

Well that was a little more intense than I had intended but I think I'll leave it as is.

I can't believe this hasn't happened sooner than this...

and hopefully tonight I'll have a pic to prove it... We were having dinner at Kathryn and Jeff's house last night. Jeff has a mustache - put that thought in your back pocket for the moment. Auntie Kathryn always gifts both boys something at each other's birthdays so Joseph received a Spiderman Operation game. The boys were upstairs and downstairs and being reasonable well behaved when all of a sudden it got quiet and then we hear a buzzing noise. I dismissed it immediately and said "it's just the game". And as I was saying this Kathryn and Aaron are saying "sounds like clippers to me". Hmmm...well...my Mommy-radar must have been off-kilter because it was definitely NOT the game and was definitely Uncle Jeff's CLIPPERS. Yuppers, one and a half stripes down the middle of my babies head. So, then came the debate: do we shave it all off or hope it grows in before he starts school in 3 weeks? So far, we're not giving him a #1 special but closer to Alex's first day of school we may change our mind.



I'm back with the pictures, enjoy!

I NEED AN UPDATE IN LIFE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

Perhaps some pictures of a certain someone's special day yesterday....



For everyone in Blogland here's the scoop. After dating for a little over 4 years my girlfriend from highschool (partner in crime, haha) has gotten married. They've been engaged for a year and made a quickie decision to get married yesterday and then will have the ginormous (is that a word?) wedding reception and a vow renewal next summer on their 1 year anniversary. Tres cool!



So, because I missed out on the ceremony yesterday I need pictures! Not that I need proof but just to be able to share in their happiness.



Hopefully the new Mrs. Vince will take pity on me and will update her blog (which is on my blogroll if you're interested in pics too) with their wedding pics.



Congratulations Steve and Tina!

Will life just slow down a half a sec?

Wow! I hate to think I'll be happy when September comes but in a way I will be. The kids will be back in routine, Alex will be in preschool, Joseph will be in Kindergarten and maybe life can get back to normal - whatever that means.
But while it still is officially summer time we still have a giant list of things to do:
3 birthday parties for the boys' friends - Did I mention they're all on the same day? We'll be hitting all 3 of them though and with some luck we'll get cake 3 times too!
Global Fest fireworks night with the Carriere's - Did I happen to mention this is also on the same day of the birthday parties?
UFC pay per view night, which we always host- Oh yeah - Did I mention this is also on the same day as the birthday parties and fireworks display?
So, needless to say I'll be having a few cocktails at the end of that day!
We also have a friends birthday party this Saturday night which is perfect timing because the boys have been asking for their sitter lately. What can I say? She's a hottie and lots of fun with my boys!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO US !!!

This isn't a formal wedding pic from 8 years ago but it sure shows how much fun we are together after 8 years of marriage and makes me laugh. What more can I say? Love you long time!

HAPPY DAY TO YOU ALEX !!

Today is Alex's 4th birthday! Honestly I have no idea where the days and years have gone by, I still remember his birth day like it was yesterday...
Joseph is at Nannie and Papa's for a holiday and Aaron is working so Alex and I have had the day to ourselves to go shopping and play pirates and goof around. Next Saturday will be his birthday celebration extravaganza!

Mommy and Alex on his birth day - yeah, bangs are NOT a good look for me!
Daddy and Alex on his birth day
Mommy and Alex againAnd here's Nannie, Alex and Mommy a couple weeks ago

Time to revisit the Good Ole Thursday Thirteens...

13 Things I've Been Super Busy With

Holiday'ing with the fam
Travelling the well worn path between Chateau Beck and The MacAulay Inn
Making 5000 Save the Date cards - okay I'm exagerating a little - only 28 cards
Taking my kids to appointments - dentist and the cast clinic
Watching the kids chase bugs
Running away scared shitless from the bugs they catch
Re-decorating Alex's beaudoir -he's now been upgraded to a double bed from a twin. He's got a big room and it's more beneficial to us when we have company, and we do have a lot of company
Planning Alex's massive birthday BBQ guest count is about 50 people
Making my costume for this BBQ - did I forget to mention it's a Superhero/Supervillain theme
Hemming my Mary Katherine Gallagher "Superstar" skirt. OK she's not really a Superheroine but in her eyes she is and that's good enough for me
Cleaning house, cleaning house and cleaning house. It's never ending from the dirty fingers and dirty toes but much like my kids I love to be barefoot in the backyard
Trying to figure out my website for the Uncover the Cure run, my Mom's already kicking my ass in sponsorship...kudos to you Mom!
Trying to find kick-ass recipes for beans, potato salad, macaroni, salad and cabbage rolls. Mine are okay but I want something super-fantastic for the BBQ - and relatively idiot proof. We had awesome cabbage rolls at the church's All You Can Eat Perogie Night, i think they had pork and beef in them. Whatever it was, it was rockin'!

Have I posted my biker pics yet?
Are you silently humming the Wedding March in your head now?Obviously Joe gets his love of bugs from Nannie and not me!
My boys making popcorn at Nannie and Papa's house