Are you a people pleaser? No? Apparently I am. Or I was.

Honestly I live with the mentality that the world is a much happier place when we all just get along.
Really I do.
But sometimes, life throws you a curveball and you just can't accomodate everyone all the time.
Like today. I may not have handled the situation in the best possible way but I can live with it and I stick with my decision.
You can't change the past so you just need to deal with it and move on.
Now, hopefully tonight I'll sleep better and tomorrow will be a better day.


6 Steps to Stop Being A People Pleaser

1. Recognize and admit that excessive people pleasing is a problem in your life.
2. Make a decision to start expressing your needs to everyone in your life.
3. Practice articulating your needs with someone who is non-threatening.
4.Understand that confrontation need not be a negative thing.
5. Consider befriending people who are bound to trigger your old people-pleasing tendencies.
6. Remind yourself that it is perfectly acceptable to disagree with other people.

A sure sign of a recession

Advertisements on TV that this:will turn into this: which gives you this:

Would you do it?

I was googling random things last night about last minute holidays (not that we're going anywhere anytime soon) and came across this picture. It's a 5 bed family room in a hotel in Denmark.

I'm not sure I'd ever want to go that badly that I'd subject me and the fam to such tight sleeping quarters.

YET for houseboating Thing One and Thing Two were sleeping in little more than a people shelf and managed just fine. I guess it really is just for sleeping.

13 Things That I'm Thinking

Thursday Thirteen

1. Yeah for Michelle winning a trip to Mexico
2. Gawd, I hope she packs the camo-bikini
3. I wonder if Jon will wear a matching Speedo
4. I'm so lucky that Alex cleans his own puke bucket
5. Wasn't he over this bug three days ago?
6. Who's opening for Kelly Clarkson?
7. Do I have any pictures of Jaime and I together?
8. Should I wait in line Saturday for Theo's book signing?
9. Is it cruel and unusual punishment to force a sick kid to come for a drive to Starbucks?
10. Mmm...pumpkin pie Vitatop...can't wait!
11. Why hasn't LouLou called me? '
12. Is LouLou still sleeping?
13. Traci's status updates are funny. What DO people mean when they say their computer went down on them?

Yeah it was me

I'm the wiseguy that put Kriss Kross on my iPod. It was NOT intentional believe me. I'd found some of their tunes for JT thinking he'd like it. Yeah, not so much. And I think when I plugged in my iPod after that time it automatically added my new stuff. Normally I'm loving this feature but last night as I'm trying to doze off it just kept me awake. Remembering the songs, remembering trying on my clothes backwards to see if I could get away with the look (nope, never left my bedroom), remembering listening to it at Jaime Judd's house on full blast...yep those were the days. Carefree days. Wonder whatever happened to Jaime Judd? She moved to Ottawa, I visited her once and never heard from her again but in all fairness I did move to Calgary and didn't send her a forwarding address. I was 15 and couldn't give a crap about writing letters.

Note to Jenn. The theme to my letter to my 16 year old self would go something like "what the hell are you thinking"? Enough said.

Moving on...

Oh yeah, Kriss Kross. So apparently the Daddy Mac has alopecia and not cancer like first reported and the Mac Daddy is still in the music business but goes by Elliott something.

Definitely a one-hit wonder.

Kris Kross lyrics

Kris Kross - Jump (1992) (English) Video - Kris Kross Music Videos

Music Videos by VideoCure

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate. Hmm...

The boys and I headed to our local flu clinic place today expecting it to look a bit like this:

It was the complete opposite. But I didn't bring my camera and have no picture. BUT I did drive away saying I'm SO blogging this! Sad, it's true.

Anyways, Aaron and I had decided to get both the boys their flu shots. They were all pumped up for getting their shots and there not only was standing room only but a line-up for at least 60 or 70 people outside in the snow. Standing. Waiting. While it was snowing.

Not me folks.

I jumped back in the Fun Bus with the boys and we went to the library instead. Maybe we'll try again tomorrow evening. It's not that I'm lazy, I just don't dig standing in the snow and freezing my butt off when I don't have to. The boys thanked me for it too.

So, everyone - flu shot? H1N1? Anyone have anything to say about these? Will you or your family vaccinate this season?

So grown up sometimes YET so silly

At snack yesterday Alex was telling me about the conversation him and his buddies had at school Thursday. Apparently one of his 6 year old friends just broke up with his girlfriend. HE'S SIX YEARS OLD!!! I asked him what he told his friends and he said 'nothing, my girlfriend doesn't go to our school so I'm keeping her a secret'. It was so cute! Alex has decided he's going to marry one of my dayhome girls. He's known this for at least a year, he's never changed his mind - except for his plan for when they're grownups. Some days they're going to move to her house, some days they're going to sleep in his room with the bunk beds and some days they're going to move into our basement. Should I be worried?

And earlier in the day Alex put on his brother's old Halloween costume. It's a size 3, Alex hasn't been a size 3 since he was about 2...hence the skintight fit.

That kid cracks me up!

Can you really put a price on family photos?

Apparently our photographer can and did. In a BIG way. We had family pics taken at Confederation Park a few weekends ago and they turned out FABULOUS! So fabulous in fact that we had a hard time picking out which ones to get. We went from 200 pics to 80 good ones to 40 great ones to 20 we-need-to-get-these ones to 11 let's-be-real-and-consider-the-money ones to 9 bought-and-paid-for ones.

Seriously, there is money to be made when it comes to The Beck's. We want it all!

We really do love our pics though. Last year we drove an hour out of the city trying to capture the perfect pose. At the time the perfect pose was the boys holding hands walking away from us. We've captured it but it's always been so-so. Well for $35 we have bought the perfect pose in an 8 by 10. Aaron can now stop making fun of me and my picture addiction.

And for your viewing pleasure and because we are just SO GOOD LOOKING here's some family photos from Nannie's 75th birthday party.

Nannie's kids

Nannie and her kids

Nannie's grandkids and spouses

Nannie's grandkids

The Clan

Nannie's kids and spouses

The Mac-Beck's and Nannie

****My scanner's having issues so I'll try and re-scan at a higher resolution later ****

Home from the hospital

Last night, Thing Two and I took a trip to Black Diamond to visit their wonderful hospital and staff. It all started with the cat allergies. Now that we've re-located our cat and cleaned our house of cat hair and dander he is super sensitive to cat hair. He was most likely exposed to some this weekend which stirred up his coughing and wheezing. Hence the drive out to BD. I was worried about allergy induced asthma but of course when we get there his O2 level is a nice 96%. So, we were told to keep doing what we're doing - keep him away from cats, follow through with the allergy testing and monitor the wheezing.

So, while at the hospital Alex starts to make up songs about God to pass the time. It was more like a hollaback chant:

"God knows everything, God knows everything
God sees everything, God sees everything
If everyone dies, if everyone dies
God will use itty bitty pocus, to make us new ones"

We don't often talk to God at home so I'm sure this stems somehow from attending Catholic school.

So after he sings me and the doctor his song he says "See Mom, I can write my song just like Nickelback". Guess who his hero is? Chad Kroeger. Hopefully Alex will never adopt any of Chad's hairstyles :o)

Our weekend away from the 'Burbs

Here's how happy Alex was to wake up to SNOW. This is how impressed I was with the snow. The hair and no-makeup are a good look for me? Yesno?

Alex and I played playdough - alot. Aaron took out the hot tub that used to live in the corner of the cottage

Here's what half a hot tub looks like if you've ever wondered

And Aaron taking out any frustrations with the hot tub.

Our first night there it was 9 outside and a toasty 30 inside. I never thought I'd say it but 30 is just too hot! (that only applies to indoors)

Here's JT being himself - cool

And Alex playing with his toys

Lyla's on holiday at the cottage with Brian still, they're good company for each other.

Here's Aaron's perfect toasted marshmallow - he made me take a picture. Sometimes I think he's making funny of my blogging. "Here Lesley, take a picture of my marshmallows, you can blog about it later" Nice, eh? Yet here I am blogging about it..

JT will kill me when he's a teenager and sees the hat I made him wear when he was 8. Almost 8.

Alex won't care that he had a matching hat, haha

Whatever happened to Pin the Tail on the Donkey birthday parties?

We have booked JT's 8th birthday party at Laser Quest. It's another first for us, last year they said 4 and older could participate which was okay, we even snuck in a 3 year old who did just fine. This year it's 7 and older. There will be no sneaking in the younger siblings and cousins. Okay Alex is an exception - his bro has to be there.

...sigh...and now for a wee trip down memory lane...

Joey's first birthday party was at home with a very pregnant Aunty Cindy, family and close friends. Joey had chocolate cake all over himself and his new wagon which Daddy and Uncle Dan realized was more difficult to put together than it looked. We still have the wagon, incidentally.

So, we started off small but as the years went by it graduated to having a magician, Petland, themes, Karate and inevitably more money. Cha-ching!

Maybe next year we'll attempt a sleepover?

Then again.

Maybe not.