I can totally tell it's almost spring

I've got this uncontrollable urge to purge. I go through this every year - maybe even two or three times a year. I just feel the need to go through every closet, bin, storage area, drawer, tote and get rid of "stuff". The majority of this is toys and I have an overabundance of them. I used to think that it was ME who had the shopping habit BUT I have come to realize that it's actually AARON that buys most of the toys between all major holidays/typical gift buying occasions. I really don't fault him for it, he loves taking the kids shopping and helping find that special something. So, now it's time to part ways with the not-so special somethings.

Alex requested a picture with one of his favourite toys, a FP castle complete with little knights and armed guys. He plays with this for hours at a time - sometimes he makes fab plans for his Galactic Heroes to come invade. This was probably one of our greatest yard sale purchases evah! Well, it's right up there with the Today's Kids rocking horse...which will be looking for a new home asap.

Now I'll have to go ask Joe what his favourite toy is. I'm guessing it could have something to do with Spiderman or Pirates.

Next I'll need to figure out where all of these toys are going. The last time I tried to drop off at a donation depot a lot of stuff was refused because they had too much or because it was baby related. It's pretty discouraging when you're trying to do a good thing and then to be rejected. Apparently Calgary is a rich city which can afford to be picky about accepting donations. Maybe I need to look at a family at the church that could use some toys. I'm open to suggestions - although I will say I have no interest in consignment. These toys have entertained a lot of kids and we've gotten our monies worth, I'd rather give them away and be done with it than trying to sell them by the piece. I want them out - now.

This weekend's project will be the ginormous rubbermaid totes in the garage - and finding a home for the double stroller. I had someone that was interested about 6 months ago and then nothing ever came of it. The canopies are a bit faded but it works great. :o) Any takers out there?

My New Workout :

Aaron and I have started having dance-offs every night. We're still getting the hang of it and definitely do way better when the hand controllers are turned off. We dance to the same song/same level and try to outscore each other. Joey's been practising and is doing pretty good. Alex would prefer it if I could just carry him in my arms and do the moves. What a freaking workout that is.

Tres fun! I totally recommend it for anyone needing a workout boost.

I see there's a new DDR coming out Spring 2008. Can't wait!

Finally some pics of Thing One and Thing Two

Finally - the haircut! Which ended up being a fauxhawk. Apparently it's the "in" thing to do with boys Joey's age. It's kind of a long on top ceaser cut so it can be spiked, fauxhawked or ceaser'd. The stylist even put some blue gel in which totally made Joey's evening :o) This is his scary Turok pose. And is this cute or what? Alex came home with this from preschool and at least once a day Dr. Alex has been trying to feel my forehead to see if I'm "feber"-ish. So cute!

I think 5 days between posts is a new record for me

I've been uber-busy with tax time...shudder shudder...and my new business...insert big happy smile...

My down time has changed from celebrity gossiping and blogging to filing, calculating and cutting paper. Soon, it will shift to gossiping, blogging and cutting paper - then I'll be posting regularly again.

So, catch up time:

Thanks for agreeing with me that it's not perverse to apply bum cream. I was not the only person at the meeting who got the same vibe - no big surprise. I don't why I even put that much thought into it but it's over.

I took Friday off from the dayhome to go up to Edmonton for some much needed family time. We did a lot of family bonding on Friday and the guys did some manly bonding at some ultimate fighting event that night. Aaron and Dad hit a checkstop on the way home and Aaron had to do a breathalyzer - he passed of course or else this wouldn't make the blog - I think I was surprised that he's never had to before. Although I think we've only ever gone through 2 or 3 checkstops before.

I bought myself some new shoes on Sunday while shopping with Mom which I'd love to show you but I can't find a pic of them anywhere and I'm too lazy to actually go take a picture.

We've also finalized our Totally 80's party plans and are getting anxious - it's going to be a great time. We've requested 80's songs but Aaron and I were thinking that maybe we should actually just compile a playlist. No special order of the songs but just to make sure that it's tunes that most people will recognize. I think most would come from soundtracks...

Hope everyone had a great weekend :o)

Looking for some honest answers...

Dear Readers,
Tonight was my monthly dayhome meeting and it was a wild one! There were a couple attendees that don't usually come to our meetings and they definitely rocked the boat. Very opinionated and definitely tried to talk over anyone who's opinion they didn't share. I left that meeting pretty confused and feeling like we accomplished zippo.
Now I'll admit that in the beginning I mistook a seasoned provider as a newcomer - because she never comes to our meetings- but when she corrected me I apologized and thought that was that. It. Was. Not. She's very opinionated and it drove me nuts. I know everyone has their own ideas but that doesn't make hers the right one, does it?
Maybe you guys can give me your opinion on something.
If a toddler in your care had a diaper rash would you or would you not apply ointment if the parents have given you written permission? Personally I would and when my son was in a daycare I gave them consent to do the same. Tonight I was told that I shouldn't because of the sexual innuendo that I'm opening myself up to. WTF? If you're worried about being accused of inappropriate touching than you should not be working with children. Period.
I was absolutely blown away. Am I wrong? In my mind applying diaper cream isn't much different than cleaning a poopy bum.
So tell me, am I way out of line here?
Signed,
Confused and Frustrated Dayhome Secretary

Happy Family Day!

We had a fairly busy weekend. We spent Saturday at the cottage and then Sunday I took Alex with me to Alix to visit his 'sisters'. (Some day he'll realize they're not related) And Joey stayed with Aaron and his parents and got to go quadding with Grandpa.

The weather was perfect, not too cold but not warm enough to melt the snow either. We had a sleigh ride on the cutter and it was pretty fun. Although I was a little apprehensive at first. "What happens if the ice cracks?, What happens if we're actually in the water? Will my jeans drag me down? Am I better off wearing different pants?" And all the worry for nothing. The ice was definitely frozen and thick enough. The boys really enjoyed themselves :o)

Last night was a rough sleep for both boys so we packed up and came home first thing this morning. After a warm bath and some down time they seem to be feeling better. Alex has stopped blowing snot rockets so that' s gotta be a good sign, right?

I forgot my camera at home so no pictures to share :o(

Joey would now like to be called Turok

Today Joey recruited me for some assistance in making a mohawk. I obviously failed but tried really hard. I'm taking him for a hair cut tonight and am actually considering a mohawk for him...we'll see...it is only hair, right? What I worry about is that it is winter and he'll be wearing a touque to school which will squash the mohawk and look dorky. We'll see what happens...

And here's a pic of me with dorky hair. I'm so glad the stylist said no to bangs!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Thursday Thirteen

13 Things I Love About Aaron

1. He loves me.
2. He's a great father.
3. He is enthusiastic about things he loves.
4. He's yummy and my friends know it.
5. He doesn't mind splurging on nights out.
6. He doesn't question Bunco nights.
7. He supports everything I do.
8. He thinks outside the box.
9. He volunteers at school.
10. He does nothing half-assed.
11. He throws a great party.
12. He surprises me.
13. He's my lobster.

I DO NOT puffy pink heart WINTER!

Winter clothes. I. Hate. Winter. Clothes. So in the middle of winter when it's minus 20 and I should be wearing something like this:

You definitely have better odds of seeing me in this:
I don't think it's because they're visually unflattering just way too puffy and hard to maneuver my purse straps onto my shoulder.

I own winter boots but hardly ever wear them. That would be the lazy factor coming in to play. When I run out to a friends house I usually wear my black Bare Traps:

It's just so much easier than actually bending over and unzipping my cute high heeled boots. And I've even gotten used to having wet socks.

I am definitely a sun goddess and counting down the days to Spring :o)

Here's Jonny! (and Auntie too)

Isn't he cute?

Hope everyone had a good weekend! Ours was off to a great start - Couples Bunco was a hit - aw always. Until we left. Aaron was carrying a folding table and fell/stumbled/fell down the front steps. Yowsers! So, he's now sporting a sprained ankle. Nothing's broke - knock on wood.

Saturday I had the pleasure of taking Thing One and Thing Two to Let's Play with two of their playmates and their moms. It's so nice to finally have kids old enough to run around without having a parent within arms reach. We sat closeby and kept an eye on them - there was no free for all - but it was fab to just be a spectator for once.

Today has just been a stay at home in my jammies and clean clean clean kind of day. A lot of the cleaning was going through all of the junk drawers, cleaning out the fridge. Alex's big task today was to help me sort all of the loose change. That. Took. Forever. But he now knows the names of all the coins and can match them up correctly. Joey's big task was helping me sort the recycling. Yuck. That's my most unfavourite chore. Oh, besides dusting. That seems to be never ending. We are in desperate need of a furnace cleaning! Once we hit the plus side again and I have a break in our oh-so busy schedule I really should git-r-done.

Can't wait to hear the deets +about Auntie Anne's party!

I can hardly believe this freaking weather !

Today is definitely an indoor day so I decided to let the kiddies have free reign today over what activities we did and what we ate. (within reason of course) So, we played 5,000 rounds of color/shaped Bingo followed by some serious Floam sculpture building and then finished it off with some snack making. We decided to make cake. So I brought out enough ingredients for the boys to have their own white snack cake. Which they then combined to make a big snack cake and then the silliness started. "Hey, let's add some choc chips to it and make a smiley face." is what I said. And then we had 4 little hands throwing in choc chips by the handful. And then someone seen mini marshmallows in the open cupboard and they just knew the cake wouldn't be complete without 4 little handfuls in the cake. I was enjoying the show and just let them have at it so we tried to bake the concoction and this is what it looked like after 20 minutes which is double the normal baking time - a big soupy gross mess-
So we baked it for another 40 minutes and this is how it turned out. Golden but not burnt.
And flat. Maybe it was all of the marshmallows or maybe it was the constant stirring...but I did have quite a few little boys very proud of themselves :o)

I am officially now a Glitter Goddess!

Christine gave me a tee so I'm officially a "Glitter Goddess" , cute, eh? Not a great pic of me but Aaron was in a rush for hockey so it's a timed pic - not so hot.
My first workshop is next Wednesday and although I'm feeling totally prepared I had a dream the other night that I didn't have enough supplies and everyone did everything wrong. Good thing it was just a dream, right?
Busy weekend ahead, we're kicking it off with some Couples Bunco tomorrow night which is always a lot of fun. For all you readers that don't have such a thing I highly recommend this. It's 6 couples that get together every 6 to 8 weeks and play Bunco. It's a no-brainer game where you rotate partners every round (25 rounds) and you win prizes, every couple pays $25 each game and every couple goes home with a prize and you take turns hostessing at your home. Bunco is my answer to everything. Having a home party? Why not play Bunco? It's way easier to get 12 ladies together to play Bunco than to buy candles or books or makeup. So I combine the two. If they buy that's great, if not, that's fine too. It's still a fun evening. This totally works for Cookie Exchanges too.
Anyways, I'm solo-parenting while Aaron works this weekend so I'm taking the boys to Let's Play with some friends Saturday morning for some active play which will hopefully tire them out a wee bit.
Enjoy your weekend everyone!
Wish I were celebrating with the fam in Halifax :o( Take lots of pictures for me!

Thursday Thirteen - One Liner's

1. A day without sunshine is like, night.
2. Don't be irreplaceable; if you can't be replaced, you can't be promoted.
3. Don't take life too seriously, you won't get out alive
4. Experience is something you don't get until just after you need it.
5. Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.
6. Some days you are the bug, some days you are the windshield.
7. Your kid may be an honors student, but you're still an idiot.
8. Who stopped payment on my reality check?
9. Some drink at the fountain of knowledge. Others just gargle.
10. Never mess up an apology with an excuse.
11. If you can't convince them, confuse them.
12. Hard work has a future payoff. Laziness pays off now.
13. I'm as confused as a baby in a topless bar.

5 Random Facts About 5 Becks

Aaron

• loves guns - not for killing purposes but the whole logistics of the piece, the way it looks and feels and statistics...
• still thinks Tito Ortiz is pretty cool
• 's favourite colour would be army green and favourite pattern is camoflauge
• had never seen Dirty Dancing until this past Sunday
• is the life of the party time and time again

Joey

• will go by Joseph, Joe, Joey or JT at any given time - at his discretion
• knows his phone number and house number but not street name
• loves laying the smack down on his dad
• enjoys singing along to Mini Pops Kids 3 and 4
• owns 1000s of Pirate of the Caribbean lego pieces and can amuse himself for HOURS at a time making different ships and rafts

Alex

• 's favourite food is a toss up between hot dogs and mac & cheese
• loves Scooby Doo, he owns a ton of DVDs and for a treat he'd take a new Scooby Doo comic book over candy any day
• likes to wiggle his bum back and forth while dancing
• has the coldest room in the house and still sleeps without covers
• is a great friend to all his little buddies

Lyla

• is our Rottie/German Sheperd
• has extra toes on both her back legs - dew claws-
• acts like Marmaduke -the cartoon Great Dane
• is a great sister to Joey and Alex and loves the dayhome kids
• barks like crazy to jets that we can't hear just see the line of smoke in the sky

Lesley

• loves books
• functions off 6 hours of sleep on a daily basis
• enjoys party planning no matter how stressful it can be
• likes to socialize with her besties at least once a month
• has a girl-crush on Gwen Stefani

Move Over Milli Vanilli

Here comes Joey!

He was gifted an MP3 player for his birthday which he loved - until it broke. So, for Christmas Aaron and I decided to buy him a replacement one. So he's sporting around a fire engine red ZEN and it's awesome. The downside to this is twofold (A) Joey figured out where the volume control is and sometimes gets a little carried away with it and (B) Joey loves to sing. And. He's. Not. Very. Good. .... At. All.

He's jammin away in the vid to the Minipops version of a Maroon 5 song- Make Me Wonder. Enjoy!

Any Nip/Tuck 'ers out there?

I was really into it the first season, second season was so-so and than it got perverse so I called it quits - until last night.
Nip/Tuck got the coveted position of playing right after the football game last night so I watched it while working on a project (which I can't talk about until next week). And the show was actually not bad. I think I'll make a point of trying to watch it next week too.

Can't wait for Big Brother to start again!

Honestly how bad could they really be?

I am about to embark on an adventure which I'm sure not many of you guys have done before.

I am taking Thing One and Thing Two to...

a costume shop.

Aaron has decided what personna he'll be donning for our Totally 80's fundraiser event and now I am tracking down the stuff he'll need to pull it all together. I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a surprise or not so I'll keep it to myself for now.

So, I'm trying to not anticipate the worst BUT I'm picturing my kids going totally carazay in this store. It's also a party supply store so I can envision tons of helium balloons and a lot of tantrums.

The obvious thing to do is leave the kids at home BUT the shop is only open during the day and closed on Sundays which doesn't really fit our schedules.

If there was a positive spin to this it would have to be that we're going to a birthday party right after the shopping so I'm hoping I'll have a little leverage there.

Wish me luck!