I actually DO have a life sometimes.

Not often. But still...
Last week seems to have just been a whirlwind of trying to make Beaver scarves, hosting an overnight guest while my mom saved my sorry ass and came down to do the hard parts of the scarves (which was everything but the cutting out), and making fruit kabobs for Joey's class and still trying to find a little time to buy something for the wedding we attended yesterday.
It's been non-stop until this morning. And here I am sitting in my jammies trying to update when I really should be getting ready to pick my boys up from their grandma's house and taking them to the science centre.
Yesterday Alex was invested into Beavers so the boys and I went to Fish Creek Park for the ceremony. It was very cute, all the little blue hatted boys gave their solemn promise on the Beaver flag to be good beavers.

Then it was off to Grandma's and I rushed home to change for the wedding. It was a very different ceremony than what I'm used to. The groom is Egyptian which I guess equates to being Arabic and having an Arabic ceremony. Very interesting. The reception also had a lot of Arabic touches to it. The married couple danced in the middle of the venue upon being announced and coming in. And not just for 2 or 3 minutes. They danced for like 15 or 20 minutes while we all stood and clapped along. They even raised the couple up on chairs and danced them around. Crazy! They had 2 traditional dances, first dance and father-daughter dance and then a live Arabic band came for the next 45 minutes. I got up there and got some belly dancing lessons from one of the aunties. She told me to just be sexy. I said I AM BEING SEXY!!! I have zero rythym when it comes to Arabian dancing. But, I danced and enjoyed myself anyways.
Joey and Grandma at Grandparents Day at school
Fruit Kabobs that mom and I made for Grandparents Day
Alex lost a tooth this week
The boys received their parcel from Auntie Anne and Uncle Derek. Alex took these to school on Wednesday for his show and tell as his favourite toys. Thank you so much!
And Alex being Alex.

I'm sick

Please excuse the lack of posts but I've been under the weather.

Here's a pic from our trip to Allen Bill Pond today while we attempted to get our Christmas card pic once again:

UFC at MacKenzie Wal-Mart

Okay it wasn't THAT bad but it easily could have been. Here's what happened:

the boys and I went to Wal-Mart after karate to look for the new Minipops CD and as we walked in I seen they finally had WATER. It's been hard to find this last week or so, so the boys and I turned around and went to the buggy corral at the front of the store to grab a cart. There are three rows of carts, the row on the right has the baby seat thingys so we opt out of that and there's a couple blocking the other two rows trying to buckle their baby (who could barely sit up) into a cart. We waited for about a minute while they tried to figure it out and they even looked up and smiled and apologized for blocking the way of myself and some LOSER. So, keeping in mind that I had two boys dressed in sparkling white gi's with me I said "could you excuse me please" and went around them to grab a cart and went around them to continue on shopping. So, the LOSER yelled out "could you show some consideration?" Consideration of what? That I didn't want to wait while they figured out how to try and make the cart safe for their wee baby or that I didn't grab him a cart too? I really have no clue but it put me in a wicked mood for shopping. I just said "whatever" and got on my way.

Then it was time to check out.

I seen that someone was about to open their till so I headed to her line up and this LOSER was in a line beside us and said "isn't it more considerate to let people who have already been waiting go first?" WTF? Is it my fault you didn't see her open first? So, this time I told him "I don't know what your problem is but if you speak to me again I'm going to the manager"

Generally I'm sooooo easy going but was I seriously being pushy? Maybe I just don't see it...

On a positive note - the boys had a great time at karate - even though I obviously can't tie a belt worth shit. They fell off two times. Each kid.

Not good.

The Karate Kids

Tonight was the first night of Karate for Thing One and Thing Two and it was pretty cool. I have to do some serious cropping to show some action pics and it'll have to wait until tomorrow. In the meanwhile here is a pic of my boys - excuse the wicked shadowing all over. What's with the freaking sun and ruining all my pics lately?!?

Here's a pic of my new wall art in the playroom:

I feel like I've been dumped!

One of my fave bloggers has signed off with zero notice. Well, truth be known she had commented recently that she's lost the joy in blogging and it seemed like more work than it should but still...I'm going to miss Haley-O and her fam and her celebrity gossip. That girl had talent!

Last night was Tamara's stagette and #1 I didn't throw up #2 I didn't have to take a cab anywhere #3 I danced in a cage #4 I had a FABULOUS time!

We started off at a bridesmaid's house for cocktails, were picked up in a 14 passenger van (no kidding) and taken to the Ranchman's where the average age was like 60 and then after watching Tamara and Kristy ride the bull we WALKED to Snatch for a younger club experience.

Fabulous fabulous fabulous!

....good thing these events don't happen every weekend, although I didn't throw up I sure was tired today, lol!

Working on the Christmas pic is not-so fun...

My boys just had no desire to be posed in any way shape or form and it was too sunny outside so they turned out crappy anyways. I think it needs to be overcast for them to look better BUT I know virtually nothing about pics so it's just a guess.

Last night was Bunco night and I was DD. I wish I was referring to my bra size but I'm not. I was in fact Designated Driver and it's not as fun as I thought it would be. Don't get me wrong it was definitely my turn in line and I didn't HATE it but I defeinitely didn't LOVE it. The drunks in the back of the mommy-van were having SO much more fun! We're the next hosts so I won't even need a driver :o)

Alex's first day of Kindergarten!

Besides the fact that he woke up with the mother of all pimples on his cheek -Alex had a great first day of school. No tears or separation anxiety with that kid. He found his teacher and was super excited to go inside and start his day! Check out the new Batman backpack :o)
Don't you love it when kids dress themselves? One of the dayhome kids came sporting cowboy boots this morning. It totally made my day!

:o)

My little learners...sigh...

Joey is adjusting well to his new school. Alex is anxious to meet his teacher tomorrow and then has his first day on Wednesday. Should be interesting!!!

Trying to make a "tab" is uber-frustrating!

I figured it out BUT then couldn't get the tab links to work like planned SO I ditched the whole thing for now and just picked a fresh new template. Yes it's boring but I knew how to do it!

We had a busy weekend, zoo with the boys yesterday was a lot of fun. The river otters and wolves were very active and captured the boys attention for about 20 minutes at each place. It was heaven for me!

Today the boys and I went to Calaway Park with Auntie Kathryn. Considering how dismal it looked, it turned out to be great. No big lineups and the boys got to go on about 10 or 11 rides so they were pretty happy!

This week is the start of our evening activities and we're already double booked! Why oh why did Beavers have to start up on the same night as Joey's parent/teacher conference? We've requested either 5:30 so we'll be a few minutes late or 7:30 so we'll have to leave Beavers a few minutes early.

Let the games begin!

We're off to the ZOO today!

The zoo has got to be one of our family's favourite places to visit. The boys and I go there a lot on the weekends that Aaron has to work. Generally each time we go we start with a different area, today it's the Canadian Wilderness.

We survived the first week of school for Joey :o)

Next week Alex gets to meet his teacher and then have his first day of Kindergarten on Wednesday - then he'll start full time on the following Monday. It's not a great system in my mind but I'm sure Alex will be fine.There's something like 8 Kindergarten classes and each student gets a 1/2 hour visit and tour with their teacher (where they will unknowingly be assessed for letters, numbers, cutting with scissors and so forth). So, with that many kids to accomodate these interviews are over a 5 day period. Then with two days of staggered entry for them and the first PD Day on the 12th, that leaves a start date for Alex of the 15th. 13 days after his brother. I've given up trying to explain to Alex why he's not starting with Joey..

Day Two and the inevitable beginning of the fundraising

The video is totally self-explanatory:



This is the result of Joey's walk home without his raincoat. Not. So. Impressed.

And my shameless plug to any Grandparent or Auntie that live in the Edmonton, Calgary or Red Deer Area and would like to purchase their Student Union Ticket Book through Joey - we are now accepting orders :o)

Tonight was the Beaver Parents meeting and although I decided to not be a leader just yet I did volunteer to help with Popcorn Sales this year.

The next shameless plug for my children will be for Beaver popcorn. Watch for it!

I am continuing with the Food Challenge but have been invited to post directly on the site. How freaking cool is that? So you can check out what we had for dinner tonight over here.

We made it through the first day!

Today turned out to be quite fabulous! Everything went as planned for the most part and there were NO TEARS from either Joey or ME!

Joey and I headed to the school first thing this morning and found his class and teacher outside in the playground as per instructed. It was cold and for some reason I thought it would be totally acceptable to wear sandals. Uh, duh! WTF was I thinking? There was massive dew and it was freaking cold outside!

Anyways, the teacher left the parents outside and took the first graders inside. It was great. A little unexpected to have to say goodbye outside BUT it totally worked.

Aaron picked him up from school and when I asked how his day was he gave me a thumbs up. It must have been good.

Aaron drove halfway across the city today to get Alex's beaver uniform. Isn't he cute?!? He's definitely excited to start Beavers! After much humming and hawwing I decided to put any Beaver Mama plans on hold. I really have a lot going on with this child care online course, the dayhome, the registry and then there's my stamping class. So, I'll put it off for now and see what happens in the spring. Aaron's already decided he's destined to be a soccer coach in the spring.

And here is my dinner for today: BBQ steak, steamed jasmine rice (yum), roasted red peppers, caesar salad and OJ. Eventually I'll come up with good recipes - just not the first week of school, okay?
And what do you think of the hoodie Joey picked out? The dress code says emblems/words have to be in harmony with the Catholic faith. So is a skeleton doing the universal party on symbol in sync with Catholicism? Yes or No? Aaron thinks it's okay for school and I say no. What do YOU think?

Day 1 of a new challenge!

Here's the challenge.Basically, it's not eating out for one month. That's right an entire month. Aaron and I were just discussing the bare essentials in life and how we LOVE TO INDULGE. Seriously, we're talking about $50 at Starbucks a week sometimes..or Happy Meals for our kids every weekend just because they ask or how about our trips to Timmy's for bagels and cappucino's?! I think most of our unneccesary spending is food related. Hmm...do you think that's why my summer wardrobe doesn't fit like it did at the beginning of the summer. No, that couldn't be related.

Here's the website that Jenn created for the challenge. You are all welcome to join it too!

So, sticking with the challenge here is my dinner for Day 1:

Yup, it's tomato soup, grilled cheese and OJ. So boring BUT we had a HUGE Sunday dinner with my folks and we needed something light.

So, Saturday night about 8:30 Aaron and I decide we're bored. Who could we phone? What could we do? We contemplated going to Morinville to surprise Mom and Dad but I wasn't sure if they had company or not so we called and when we found out they had no company we invited them down here for Sunday dinner and a games night. So, first thing Sunday morning they jumped in the truck and headed down to visit. My parents are fabulous! They've come down on a whim before and I'm sure this won't be the last time.

And the countdown is on. In less than 12 hours Thing One will start in a new school. Grade 1. Yikes, I'm more nervous than he is. We packed his lunch, gave him the pep talk about what will happen, set out his clothes and sent him to bed early to get a good nights sleep. I was kind of unsure about what to pack for his snack and lunch so he ended up with this:

Fruit and Veggie juice, pickles, cut up garlic sausage, applesauce, cheese string, granola bar and fruit snacks. Too much? Not enough? I guess we'll find out tomorrow afternoon.

I can't stop thinking about this conversation I had with another mom: "If an older kid told your son on the playground to pull his pants down, would he do it?" I said "Uh, no" but then said "Well, I don't think so." And about five minutes later I was in Joey's room quizzing him about what he would do in that situation. He said he wouldn't do it. PHEW! So, Aaron and I have talked to him about bullying and that it's not acceptable and to tell his teacher if he's being picked on. I don't want him to be a tattletale but I don't want him to be bullied either. Anyone who's read 19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult knows exactly what I'm talking about.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's challenge, and a review of Joey's first day...