My boots for any skinny occasion

After hitting the panic button Friday night I realized that skinny jeans are made for tall boots or sandals so after my card class this morning I had enough time to check out some new footwear before picking up my dawgs at their grandparents. You know Aaron comes home and yells "where my dawgs at?" and he sounds so cool - I say something like that and I seem like a mean mommy referring to her beautiful children as animals... Go figure.

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43 minutes to figure out what

kind of shoes will go with my skinny jeans...I bought two new pairs of boots last night but they're short boots so I can't tuck in :o( ... it's wayyyyyyyyy too cold for the usual leather strappy ones with the kitten heels and that leaves me with camo casuals but that gives me the look of Bozo the clown, my cloggy looking things make me look like I'm wearing flood pants, my dress shoes also give the Bozo look...
Maybe I'll end up going out with the girls barefoot.
Do guys ever go through this?

The end of an era and Mommy's so freaking happy!

Finally after gawd knows how many diaper changes and bathroom trips BOTH my boys are now independant bum wipers. Can I get a WOOT WOOT???

At 4 and 5 years I'm sure most of the kiddies out there have been wipers for awhile but Thing Two in particular couldn't get the hang of it. I totally blame it on his bum wiper arm being casted for about 4 months, it's just not feesible if it's got a 90 degree bend to it, or was it 45 degrees? Whichever one makes it look like an L shape...

Anyways, yesterday Alex came home from preschool with his Batman underoos pulled up a good 4 inches above the waist of his pants. Which is always a good indicator that he went to the bathroom by himself and just skipped undoing the button because he's lazy and just tugs his pants up done up . Hence the atomic wedgie he's given himself.

And he was so pleased with himself for wiping his own butt! So today when he went to take the kids to the pool he said he could wipe himself. Yesterday could have just been a one-shot deal because he was at school but today we turned that corner of independance.

It was a proud day for the Beaver Mama :o) Maybe we'll have popcorn to celebrate!

I'm a Beaver Mama!

Well tonight was an adventure :o)

I decided to take Joseph to Beavers to see what it's all about and how he felt about it and it was a total hit! Unfortunately Aaron had to work so I ended up taking both the boys with me but it worked out just fine.

Tonight there was a Guest Presenter - Chief Deerfoot came dressed in one of his traditional costumes and did some story telling and dancing with the kids. But of course no one had their camera with them, shucks.

It was fab-u-lous! Joseph seemed to enjoy the stories and danced along and is anxious to get his own hat with a beaver tail on it.

Hah....sigh...my babies are growing up aren't they?

Babies that are here and babies to come

I LOVE BABIES! Their cute little wrinkled up faces, their smell, wee fingers and toes and the soft cries - as opposed to my 4 and 5 year old's super loud/annoying cry that would wake the dead.

I've been checking Haley's blog on and off yesterday and today to find out about her new baby. It's so exciting! Someone slipped up and said can't wait to meet him so I'm pretty sure it's a boy! Woot woot for Haley-O, Josh-O and the Monkey too!

We've had a couple new babes in our friends and family. Aaron's friend Marc just had a new addition Luke, who's older brother is Bo. Do you think he's a Dukes of Hazzard fan bychance?
And Aaron's cousin has a new baby girl Alivia. I LOVE that name! It's different but in a very classy way. Her older brother is Easton which also unique but timeless. I've finally come up with a good gift for a second child (I think) a gift certificate for pictures. There were already girl cousins' in the immediate family so Alivia didn't really need clothes and because she has a sibling there's already toys, maybe not Barbie's but she's still a wee bit too young for that so I thought maybe pictures would be nice. And like my cousin Lucie always does I picked up a couple things for the siblings so they get their attention as well. It's a hard adjustment having to share your parents with someone else so they definitely need some recognition.

I think the next babe to arrive will be Aulay MacAulay, I mean Molly MacAulay, no no wait, Colby MacAulay? I think it'll be a surprise naming when he arrives. (Let's just hope Molly isn't in the running, haha)

And then I got news last week that a friend is expecting. Yahoo! Let's just keep the exciting baby news a-coming!

Trying to get pumped

For UFC night at our place tomorrow night.

Just picture it...15 guys jumping up and down, yelling and screaming at the TVs. Yep, that's a plural, we got the big screen and our regular TV for this event...how could a girl not enjoy that?

Well, I'm sure I'll never know because for the last few fights I've done the cleaning and set up and then dissapeared with the boys so we're not underfoot.

It's the reverse of Bunco night, I think.

A super quick visit

Joseph came out shopping with me tonight and I thought we'd take a chance and see if one of our friends was home to drop off some books. I can only imagine what they were thinking when the doorbell rang half a dozen times and then Joey squished his face up against the glass frosted window to try and see if he could see anything. As Leanne approached the door she must have recognized the squishy face because she crouched down to his eye level and he screamed with delight. It was just priceless! Once inside he asked me if he could take his shoes off and when I explained that no he couldn't because we really were just dropping something off he took off for the van again. I guess he only wants to stay if it's for a long visit?

Prepare to be amazed

My friend Mary Jane sells Norwex and that stuff is amazing! I've raved before about the magical dishcloth and now I'm going to show you what the dishsoap and sponge eraser can do:

Honestly I was about to throw them in the garbage instead of packing them up for the winter...sigh...I'm glad I thought to give it a try to save them!

Why oh why is Thing Two up at 3 o'clock?

Alex was in bed asleep at 8 o'clock last night and must have crammed in some quality sleep because just after 3 this morning I heard the pitter patter of feet and then someone yelling at my face "IT'S MORNING TIME!!!" Well, it actually was morning time but it was definitely NOT wakey wakey time!
So, after taking Alex back to bed we laid there quietly for awhile, then we talked quietly for awhile, then we watched the fish aquarium toy and talked about that, then I realized it was 5:15 and that Aaron was enroute to the gym so we went back to my bedroom and flipped on the cartoons and soon enough the computer was up and running so Alex could get his Boohbah fix...
Guess there's no hope for going back to bed now. Luckily Joey slept through this whereas he usually wakes up at the first signs of life in the morning time.

Gah, this is way too scary

I got the following message from a friend this morning and it just floored me how easy it is to track someone down online. KWIM? Aaron's pretty big on being vague about stuff online and I don't do chatrooms so I think we're pretty safe but I'm sure I've blogged and said things like "I just got the boys to bed and Aaron's playing hockey late" or "we're off to my folks this weekend" guess I may as well say "WE WON'T BE HOME SO PLEASE COME ROB OUR HOUSE WHILE WE'RE GONE" so apparently I need to stop that just on the chance some lowlife is reading this blog. And just for the record we do have a friend that stays at our place while we're gone - thankfully someone needs to take care of Lyla and Romy so there's always someone around....anyways...here's the message:

> EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ ALL OF THIS and HAVE CHILDREN> READ IT TOO!

After tossing her books on the sofa, she decided to grab a snack and get on-line. She logged on under her screen name ByAngel213. She checked her Buddy List and saw GoTo123 was on. She sent him an instant message:
ByAngel213: Hi. I'm glad you are on! I thought someone was following me home today. It was really weird!
GoTo123: LOL You watch too much TV. Why would someone be following you? Don't you live in a safe neighborhood?
ByAngel213: Of course I do. LOL I guess it was my imagination cuz' I didn't see anybody when I looked out.
GoTo123: Unless you gave your name out on-line. You haven't done that have you? ByAngel213: Of course not. I'm not stupid you know.
GoTo123: Did you have a softball game after school today?
ByAngel213: Yes and we won!!
GoTo123: That's great! Who did you play?
ByAngel213: We played the Hornets. LOL. Their uniforms are so gross! They look like bees. LOL
GoTo123: What is your team called?
ByAngel213: We are the Canton Cats. We have tiger paws on our uniforms. They are really cool.
GoTo1 23: Did you pitch?
ByAngel213: No I play second base. I got to go. My homework has to be done before my parents get home. I don't want them mad at me. Bye!
GoTo123: Catch you later. Bye
Meanwhile.......GoTo123 went to the member menu and began to search for her profile. When it came up, he highlighted it and printed it out. He took out a pen and began to write down what he knew about Angel so far. Her name: Shannon Birthday: Jan. 3, 1985 Age: 13 State where she lived: North Carolina Hobbies: softball, chorus, skating and going to the mall. Besides this information, he knew she lived in Canton because she had just told him. He knew she stayed by herself until 6:30 p.m. every afternoon until her parents came home from work. He knew she played softball on Thursday afternoons on the school team, and the team was named the Canton Cats. Her favorite number 7 was printed on her jersey. He knew>she was in the eighth grade at the Canton Junior High School .. She had told him all this in the conversations they had on- line. He had enough information to find her now. Shannon didn't tell her parents about the incident on> the way home from the ballpark that day. She didn't want them to make a scene and stop her from walking home from the softball games. Parents were always overreacting and hers were the worst. It made her wish she was not an only child. Maybe if she had brothers and sisters, her parents wouldn't be so overprotective. By Thursday, Shannon had forgotten about the footsteps following her.Her game was in full swing when suddenly she felt someone staring at her. It was then that the memory came back. She glanced up from her second base position to see a man watching her closely. He was leaning against the fence behind first base and he smiled when she looked at him. He didn't look scary and she quickly dismissed the sudden fear she had felt. After the game, he sat on a bleacher while she talked to the coach. She noticed his smile once again as she walked past him. He nodded and she smiled back. He noticed her name on the back of her shirt. He knew he had found her. Quietly, he walked a safe distance behind her. It was only a few blocks to Shannon 's home, and once he saw where she lived he quickly returned to the park to get his car.> Now he had to wait. He decided to get a bite to eat until the time came to go to Shannon 's house. He drove to a fast food restaurant and sat there until time to make his move. Shannon was in her room later that evening when she heard voices in the living room. 'Shannon, come here,' her father called. He sounded upset and she couldn't imagine why. She went into the room to see the man from the ballpark sitting on the sofa. 'Sit down,' her father began, 'this man has just told us a most interesting story about you.' Shannon sat back. How could he tell her parents anything? She had never seen him before today! 'Do you know who I am, Shannon ?' the man asked. 'No,' Shannon answered. 'I am a police officer and your online friend, GoTo123.' Shannon was stunned. 'That's impossible! GoTo is a kid my age! He's 14. And he lives in Michigan !' The man smiled. 'I know I told you all that, but it wasn't true. You see, Shannon , there are people on-line who pretend to be kids; I was one of them. But while others do it to injure kids and hurt them, I belong to a group of parents who do it to protect kids from predators. I came here to find you to teach you how dangerous it is to talk to people on-line. You told me enough about yourself to make it easy for me>to find you. You named the school you went to, the name of your ball team and the position you played. The number and name on your jersey just made finding you a breeze.' Shannon was stunned. 'You mean you don't live in Michigan ?'He laughed. 'No, I live in Raleigh . It made you feel safe to think I was so far away, didn't it?' She nodded. 'I had a friend whose daughter was like you. Only she>wasn't as lucky. The guy found her and murdered her while she was home alone. Kids are taught not to tell anyone when they are alone, yet they do it all the time on-line. The wrong people trick you into giving out information a little here and there on-line. Before you know it, you have told them enough for them to find you without even realizing you have done it. I hope you've learned a lesson from this and won't do it again. Tell others about this so they will be safe too?' 'It's a promise!' That night Shannon and her Dad and Mom all knelt down together and thanked God for protecting Shannon from what could have been a tragic situation.

Thing One and Thing Two and the Disney Princesses

Yesterday was the boys' first sleepover with their cousins Brooklyn and Mackenzie. It was definitely a success and I'm sure the boys' can't wait to do it again.

Cindy (mom of the princesses) and I were chatting last month about all the household chores that would be SO much easier without the kiddies around. Don't get me wrong - we love having our kids around - but somethings are just faster and more efficient without. So, we picked a weekend for the girls to come here for a sleepover giving their parents some time to paint their bedrooms and do some other stuff.

So, after the girls were dropped off yesterday I gave them the little tour -they've been here many many times before but sleeping here was a new scenario so I showed them to their bedroom and where all the books were for bedtime stories and the bathrooms and where we could put their toothbrushes. Then we were off to the pirate ship/castle park and after that we came home for lunch and then spent the entire afternoon outside in the backyard. We played in the house, the swings, the water table (that was the fave) and played soccer. After a kid friendly meal of nuggets and fries we got washed up and ready to watch a movie. About halfway through Shark Tales the girls heads started to nod off so I brought them upstairs for a story and they were out like a light. It just seemed wayyyyyy too easy!

Now we're getting ready to go to a different park for a new adventure...

I've been busy

cleaning and organizing to keep myself busy while I detox from my carb-lovin'/caffeine addicted lifestyle. It's definitely not easy but I know it'll be worthwhile. Lately I've just been feeling kind of blah so I thought I needed to kick start my metabolism and jump on the treadmill a little more often. And truth be known I spend more money on Starbucks every month than I do on my kids skating lessons and my stamping classes combined. Isn't that just crazy? Although Aaron gets part of the credit for the Starbucks bill.
So I've cleaned out my dresser and closet, I've steam cleaned the carpets upstairs (you'd think we were having company soon or something - hee hee) and my next task is to clean out the bathroom vanities again. They seem to get full of junk so quickly. I have a bad habit of trying shampoos, not liking them and just throwing them under the sink instead of giving them away or throwing them out. But one of these days I'll find a shampoo that I love and the problem will have eliminated itself hopefully. I actually really like the Schwarzkopf line but I can never find it...I'll have to stockpile the next time I see it.

Last night was "Meet the Teacher" night at Joseph's school so I went to check out his classroom and chat with his teachers. He has the same teachers as last year but I wanted to checkin anyways. The crazy mom that I wrote about here on November 3 made an appearance last night. Turns out her wee one is in Joseph's class. Although last night she didn't seem too neurotic although she did question whether volunteer time would be prepping materials or actually working with the children. I'm not sure what answer she was hoping for but the teachers are happy with any help at all. Aaron and I have a deal that he volunteers during the day and does the parent meetings during the daytime and I do all the after-hours meetings, seminars and prep work at home.

Blah blah blah blah? What the heck? I thought I had nothing to post about and it turns out that I had a wicked case of verbal diarrhea.

Have a great weekend!

I'm still laughing about this one...

I'm looking for a new look

I'm sure a few people have noticed that I've changed the blog appearance and honestly I think it's lame. It just doesn't scream "LESLEY'S LIFE STORIES" or "JOEY AND ALEX WERE HERE" or "UFC FIGHT NIGHT AT THE BECK's".
I've tried a few different templates and I'm afraid I'll have to actually dig into my pockets and have one designed for me. I'm picturing something turquoise, really bright with Thing One and Thing Two or something along that lines...any other ideas?
And if I'm going to shell out the big bucks to have a customized blog then you can surely bet your ass that I'm going to be more diligent about blogging more than once a week.

Here's a kick-ass website I came across on the UrbanMom's site for some family jewellry which breaks away from the traditional styles.

First Day Pictures

Another successful day at school! Alex was disappointed that he didn't have school but tomorrow will come soon enough.

Moving on...

I was listening to the radio today - really I was just taking a break from singing Old MacDonald Had a Farm with the kiddies - and I heard someone say that a certain song was their life song or maybe it was story of their life song. So I got to thinking about what my life song would be. I Will Survive, maybe? Nah, I roll with the changes pretty well but I'm not sure I'd call it survival. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun? Nah, I'm a fun girl but not a party girl. Sounds easy to pick one but I've found it to be quite a challenge.

I think my Dad's life song would have to be "On the Road Again"....although he hasn't left the country for quite awhile, which I'm totally okay with!

What would your song be?

Another successful first day of school

Today was a great day!

Joseph has the same bus drivers as two years ago so he had some familiar faces which helped a lot! Last night he was a little weary of going back to school but by the time the bus pulled up he was running out the door. That alone was a great way to start my day!

Then there was Mister Alexander...

Alex has never experienced a dayhome or daycare so I wasn't sure what to expect from his first day at preschool. That kid never ceases to amaze me. I walked him in the front door and while I was trying to sign in he was trying to run off to go play with some new toys. He introduced himself loud and clear to his teacher - "Hey! I'm Alex!" It was freaking hilarious!

So, today was absolutely perfect-o...hope everyone else's first days went just as smooth!

And the world just got a little bit smaller...

Apparently my girlfriend in Ontario (Hi April! ) knows someone who's friend in Calgary went to an awesome theme party this summer where you dressed up as your fave Superhero. Hmm...what are the chances that we were at the same party and that it was Alex's Superhero BBQ??? Now I'm trying to figure out which guest it is...
But isn't that freaky??

We spent the weekend at my folks in Morinville and it was wonderful. We all went golfing on Saturday and Joey amazed us once again at his awesome golf skills - he could be the next Tiger Woods (fingers crossed)

Tomorrow is back to school for Joey (who is now going by either Joe, Joey or Joseph but definitely not JT or JoJo) and Day One of Preschool for Alex (who only goes by Alex)

Will have pics and a report tomorrow night!