Thing One's Soccer Debut

Apparently Blogger and I have made some sort of agreement and I am no longer having issues with uploading my pics for our fanclub, lol.

Joey quite liked soccer tonight, he was a little disappointed that they lost but we're trying to focus on the sport not the win/lose.

Alex went along to watch and ended up spending most of his time at the park across the field which was great because once again both boys were home, showered and fast asleep by 7:30!

I also signed both boys up for Beavers next fall. They are in desperate need of Beaver leaders and I'm on the fence right now. Honestly, the only thing holding me back are the bottle drives and sleepovers. Due to Aaron's crazy schedule we were unable to participate in these events at all this year due to scheduling conflicts. So, as a leader I'd feel pretty crappy about letting everyone down by being a no-show to some pretty key events. I could definitely do 3 out of 4 nights a month, the one week being my stamp class but I'm not sure if they're interested in part-time leaders. Maybe I should just ask them what they think?

With the dayhome it isn't easy for me to volunteer for daytime things so I'd like to do night time things as much as I can with the boys...guess I pretty much solved my own dilemna.

Soccer pics and Aaron's latest deal :o)

I love fresh air. Even in the winter. And we finally got this. A screen door for the front door. Yippeekiyay! So, here's the deal. This door is regularly priced at over $300. We picked out matching doors so we were looking at $600 on doors. But for a fresh air-aholic like myself it's totally worth it. Anyways, Aaron went to Home Depot to special order said doors and he found one of "our" doors in the discounted stuff. Someone returned it so it had been marked down $100 and when Aaron pointed out a scratch it was marked down an extra $100. Can you believe it? I couldn't, especially seeing as the scratch isn't even visible now that it's installed. After finding that bargain Aaron decided to hold off on ordering a door for the back just on the chance that he'll find another deal.

And now some soccer pics. Alex and Aaron.

Aaron leading the kids in a little run before practise. So cute!

What was I thinking?

Let me backtrack a wee bit first.

Remember a couple weeks ago when we had that record breaking snowfall? Well, that also coincided with my doctor's appointment. And with a couple phone calls to the Dr. office and a chat with the pharmacist I was able to get a much needed prescription renewal.

Fast forward to yesterday when I had my re-scheduled appointment. I had so many things on my mind THAT I COMPLETELY FORGOT TO GET MY PRESCRIPTION.

WTF was going through my head? I honestly have no idea.

So, now after talking to the Dr. office again I can have the pharmacist fax a request to my doctor who will then fax it back to him.

Uhm, yeah, definitely not one of my finer moments...

We obviously haven't scarred the poor boy

Alex was back on his bike Sunday afternoon and figured out how to make it work. It really was pretty easy now that he had functional training wheels on it. Although the fancy new bell was used to entice him a little bit. By the end of our bike ride around P.Square he was telling me how much fun it is to ride a bike. Phew! I'm happy he likes it - it's good exercise and something we can do as a family...one day...

Tonight was Alex's soccer debut. It was great for the first 45 minutes. He totally lost interest and played at the park for the last 15 minutes. Considering it was his very first organized team sport I think he did pretty good. Joey's first soccer game is Wednesday night and I think he's excited!

I forgot the camera in my mad rush out the door but I was able to borrow a Grandma's so I'll have pics to post soon.

And today Aaron discovered we've got some baby bunnies living under our front porch. The dayhome kiddies love love loved it! There's something magical about newborn critters. One of the girls said it was her lucky day, she got to see a baby brother and a baby bunny. How sweet is that?

Summer Song List

I've got an iTunes giftcard to use and I was thinking of buying some summer tunes. Here's a question for everyone to answer for me - please -

What are your favourite summer songs?

As much as I like The Beach Boys there are tons of other songs that remind me of summer like Summer Girls by LFO - I think that's the right song/artist...I'm sure you all think of it like I do as the Abercrombi & Fitch song.

Red Red Wine, Kokomo, California Dreamin'...

So what are your suggestions for summer tunes?

Ta daaaaa

(With the exception of Aaron) The Beck's are a bunch of freaking show-offs this morning.

Here's me avec my new jewellry gifted from my parents. Originally it was a large blue topaz with a katrillion diamonds around it but it really didn't fit well on my short fat fingers so when I went in for sizing I looked at some other styles and voila - one look at this bad boy and I was sold! It is SO me, and the only thing that could make this even better was that this ring had a matching necklace. How perfect is that?

And then there's Alex with his chocolate pudding pig painting. The day he came home from pre-school with it he grabbed the Batphone and was chatting with Nannie about it. ...Did I mention that the Batphone isn't plugged into the wall, hehe... So, I phoned Mom so Thing Two could actually talk to her and tell her all about it. So funny!

And then there's Joey and his Yu Gi Oh obsession. He collects the cards like crazy and draws them in his school journals, on any post it notes laying around, in the bathtub with tub crayons and in front of our house with sidewalk chalk. Anyways, he's been bugging us for a card holder that fits on his arm - apparently he's seen these on the show and on the Yu Gi Oh website but I can't find one anywheres. Okay that's only a half-truth, I found something online for $130 but come on, $130 is a bit much. So, in the mean time Thing One's been using his lego's to custom build one. I'm so proud!

I really should save this next topic for a whole different post but I'm on a roll with Blogger and picture uploading so I don't want to jinx anything...

Grocery prices are going through the effing roof! I shouldn't be BUT I am totally shocked everytime I go shopping and have to weed through the crappy fruits and veggies and still get charged outrageous prices.

SO, Aaron and I have decided to rent a garden plot outside the city and grow our own.

Stop. Laughing. Tina. It's. Not. THAT. Funny!

Or, is it?

Me? Gardening? I don't really see it happening either. BUT the prices we're paying right now are retarded. Enter. My frugality. Doesn't happen often. More to come on this topic after I find our garden plot - could be an interesting summer...

Yes, it's still snowing

Thing Two with rosy cheeks :o) My boys love the snow, they're as excited by it as I am disappointed by it.

I clearly remember May/June being like the hottest months last year and I have a sneaking suspicion that it will not be the case this year.

What have we been up to that I'm wayyyyyyyy to busy to post regularly. Home renos - again. Well, just painting really.

Last spring we did the main floor and in the fall we did the basement. So, that leaves the upstairs to be painted. It hasn't been done since being built about 6 or 7 years ago so it's definitely time. We're doing just a plain mushroomy colour for the stairs, hallway, laundry room and bathrooms but colour for the kids room.

Joey's going from Spiderman motif to camoflauge and Alex is going from Batman motif to Batman - he's not ready to change which I'm okay with. No change = less work, right?

We've been taking down pics, and filling holes and patching here and there. I think the plan is to actually throw some paint up this weekend depending on how late Aaron works and if we get a better offer. ***Note to K & J , we're still waiting to hear from you, wink wink****

This is for Allie & Virginia

Do you miss the Calgary weather? Ha ha...didn't think so!



Allie and Virginia both used to live here and I know they're both probably laughing their butts off at these pics :o)



Gotta love Calgary...sigh...I was so ready for sandals and capri pants.










*********Well Blogger is hating me today and won't let me upload any pics, once again, I'm super frustrated with the whole picture situation. I LOVE posting pics - it allows my journalling to actually make sense. Or it fills in the big empty space for when I have nothing I want to write about. Hopefully everything gets fixed soon and I'll be able to insert the pics. Thanks for bearing with me :o) **************

Hmmm...jealous much?

Why, you ask? Well, I'm on my way to Canmore this weekend for a Ladies Only Retreat :o) Can I get a WOOT WOOT !?!

I am usually a planner but for some reason I haven't put much thought into what I'm going to do/pack so it'll be a late night.

I'm going with Christine and some scrapbookers/stampers. It'll be a crafty weekend w/o the pitter patter of tiny feet or the sticky fingers trying to play with my cutter...sigh...not sure what that will be like...

Phew - it was a lonnnnnnnng night

Productive but long.

H came over tonight so we could tackle the wedding invites and they're done! Well, labels need to be printed and they need to be mailed but they're printed, stamped and assembled and we did a fab job!

Start checking your mail boxes next week....

And if you're reading this Cindy - I've replied to your comment on the last post :o)

:o( Weekend is almost over

We had fab weather this weekend and it's sad that it's almost over.

Let's see...Friday night Aaron and I had a dinner date with Kathryn and Jeff at Mongolie Grill. I LOVE that place! For those who haven't dined there, it's a stirfry place. You fill up a bowl with the veggies, meat, seafood, noodles, and sauce of your choice and then the chef's weigh it and cook it up on the grill for you. Tres cool and tres yummy! After that we went to a pub for a few cocktails and then headed home.

Aaron worked on Saturday so the boys and I bought a new bucket of chalk and they decorated our front street again. I also attempted to get Alex to ride his bike but it's just not happening, although I think the problem is definitley mechanical and not the boy. A new set of training wheels should solve that problem though. Alex shows an interest in bike riding so our whole fiasco hasn't tainted him...yet.

Later on we had some friends over for a BBQ, some card making for the ladies, Wii playing for the gents and then a co-ed game of Scene It on the Xbox 360. I had my doubts but it was definitely way more fun than the regular board game/DVD version. We were playing singles and it's more competitive. I highly recommend it :o)

Today the boys' and I hung out around the house while Aaron worked. It's Beaver night and siblings are invited. So, do I bring Alex and hide my head in shame as he wreaks havoc or let him stay home with Daddy for some quality time? Or maybe just maybe he'll surprise me and totally behave at Beavers and listen? I'm hoping for #3 but we'll see how dinner time goes.

Why Women Cry

WHY WOMEN CRY...
We cry because our toe hurts
We cry because our friends hurt
We cry because our hearts hurt by the ones we love the most
We cry because our loved one and moved to the West Coast
We cry because we're mensing and our hormones are in charge
We cry because our butt is small....or is it way too large?????
We cry because our parents tried to tell us what they knew
We cry because we didn't listen, now life tells us what to do
We cry because we're parents now and want to give our children more
We cry because our children have no clue of what's in store
We cry because we're angry, upset or in despair
We cry because we don't know why, and sometimes we don't care
We cry because God says we can and He put those feelings there ...

Sana Y. Shabazz

Well, I'm most definitely a cry'er. And although I'm not embarrassed or ashamed of my crying I sometimes find myself mad at myself for not being able to control it. You see, I cry at the Tim Horton's commercial with the father/son at the hockey rink - touching commercial but even thinking about it can bring tears to my eyes. I cry at the sad parts of a book, movie or TV show. I think I even cried a few times on Big Brother when Sheila was talking about how much she misses her son. I wasn't crying b/c of her missing her son but b/c I was thinking about how much I'd miss my own son. I cry when my kids are hurting, or my friends, or my friends kids. How come I can control my temper but not my tears? And how come guys are like the total opposite. Aaron laughs at the 'wussy' commercials or Sheila being a crybaby or Abby crying b/c she's feeling guilty - no sympathy for adulterers...and there I am with tissues in hand. What's up with that?

And for the record, Calgary got 23 CM of snow yesterday a new record since 1920...and we're supposed to be +20 this weekend so I'm anticipating some flooding.

Crazy snow-day!

Today we got a whole lotta snow! I checked out the weather network to get an accurate measurement but it says 0 CM ---hmmphf, one look out my window and I know they're on crack.
I think Tina said 15 CM which could very well be right.
We woke up to blizzard like conditions - well maybe blizzard is stretching it a bit but there appeared to be at least 4 inches of sticky heavy snow on the ground.
Joey's bus showed up about 10 minutes late and after talking to the bus driver while he manually cleared all windows and headlights I decided that Joey'd be better off having a snow day. Sorry for wasting the bus drivers time but by the time Joey got to school it would have been time to come home.
Next came the appt. for Alex's shots. Well that got re-scheduled, there was no way Aaron could get there.
Then came my Dr's appt. And that got re-scheduled, I actually was dumb enough to think 90 minutes would be ample time to get me there. It's typically about a 20 minute drive. Well in an hour I got from our house to the Wal-mart that is less than a 5 minute drive from home.
Truly pathetic driving conditions.
So, instead we had a snow day. The dayhome kiddies and my boys were outside almost all morning. They came inside long enough to have a snack and let me dry their winter gear before running back out to play in the snow again.
I love this weather - not the driving - but the snow brings the kids so much joy it's unbelievable.

And totally off topic - how many people noticed that I posted a pic of Aaron in his underoos in Banff? At least they were boxer briefs and not the banana hammock...you almost can't tell they're undies unless you're looking realllllllllly closely...which makes me wonder why my girlfriend was looking that closely to his undies? Just kidding Girlfriend!

There are 4 posts today folks so grab a cuppa and come catch up

I have had major issues with Blogger uploading pics and most of my recent posts required a few pics so tonight I toughed it out and didn't give in to Blogger.

What's uber-frustrating is the fact that I have this new camera which I love taking pictures with but can't share them with anyone...

Congratulations to Jenn, Darryl and Lucas on the newest addition to their family :o) For the baby pool I chose Sunday morning knowing that we'd be out of town...babies seem to born while we're away for some reason - although I did pick up something for Nathan in Banff, well maybe it's more for parent than the child. I thought they were funny in any case - I think it comes under the category of "What will they come up with next?"

Teaching Thing Two To Ride A Bike

It was not an easy task let me tell you.

Sunday afternoon Aaron and I got the boys bikes out and decided enough's enough - Alex needs to figure out his two wheeler - avec training wheels of course.

It wasn't a pretty site :o(

Alex would pedal and then his foot would slip or it would appear that he'd pedal backwards and come to a jarring halt.

We took turns coaching him and cheering him on but oh boy was it ever frustrating! And then the tears came. Poor Alex just didn't seem to be getting it but we pushed on b/c we figured the outcome would surpass the trauma of getting there. After all he could now bike ride with his big brother. Or so we thought. After a few major meltdowns we said forget it and Alex ran off to the park to play.

So, Joseph decided to ride Alex's bike home with Aaron and then we discovered that one of his training wheels was supertight and wouldn't spin so poor Alex was struggling the entire time. My poor boy was trying so hard and it just wasn't happening and it was totally not his fault.

We definitely weren't up for Parents of the Year awards that afternoon...

Still catching up...

Next was our surprise trip to Banff. "So there" to all those byatches who think I can't keep a freaking secret. "So there".
I surprised Aaron with a trip to Banff on the weekend. The boys stayed with their godparents and we were on our own. Unfortunately the weather sucked ass so we were still sporting the minivan and not the convertible but whatevs, it was still a getaway weekend.
Our room was effing gorgeous! When we walked in there was a bathroom but it was missing the 2 person jacuzzi..and then we walked in a bit further and seen the fireplace and lo and behold there's a staircase upstairs which lead us to the 2 person jacuzzi with a TV in the corner and a mountain view. Aaaaaaahhhhh...the angels were sighing in the background, I swear I could hear them.
So, Aaron and I had a relaxing day/night of shopping, a leisurely dinner, movie (Superhero which sucked ass) a couple bottles of wine and thankfully no hangover.
It just doesn't get much better than this - oh yes, it does. The trip was a Christmas gift from some very generous clients of mine so it was free. Love love love you guys :o)

Trying to catch up...

First the purse party.

It was fabulous! The girls were in just before 7 and gone just before 9. Cindy and I co-hosted and had enough credit for 2 free purses each and half-price off a purse at the party booked from ours. There were almost 20 ladies in and out and easily 200+ purses to choose from.

Okay okay I know the email was just a hoax but

man oh man it was funny!

Here are a few random pics of my boys :o)

Uh, yeah, Joey looks like he's crying because I made him uncover his eyes for the pic and he was positive the sun would burn them...sheesh...maybe I went a little overboard on the talk about wearing sunglasses to protect our eyes.

Sorry for the delay in posting folks - I've had this saved as a draft since Tuesday...it seems like Blogger doesn't like uploading any of my pics...grrr...so frustrating!

Anyways, Cindy and I are co-hosting a designer purse party tomorrow night - can't wait!