Lots of post today....

I could try and spread it out over a few days but then I'd forget everything so here we go.

Alex is turning into quite the performer! He has learned a new song at preschool almost every class and can recite most of the them - even on demand from me, they're just so darned cute I want to show him off to the world!

Santa's Reindeer (to the tune of Frere Jacques)

Santa's reindeer

Santa's reindeer

Off they go

Off they go

Flying over rooftops

Flying over rooftops

Ho Ho Ho

Ho Ho Ho

I'm a Little Christmas Tree (to the tune of I'm A Little Teapot)

I'm a Little Christmas Tree

Short and green

Here are my branches

The cutest you've ever seen

When I get all decorated

Here me cheer

Merry Christmas and

Happy New Year!

Isn't that awesome?!? Okay, what else? Oh yeah, a freaking hilarious video:

I was also going to vent a little today but I've had a change of heart and have decided to just say that there is a definite difference between these two words:

helping hand and free ride. Look it up and figure it out.

ICE

The following is an email that I received from a friend, and what better way than to spread the word than posting it on the web?!

We all carry our mobile phones with names & numbers stored in its memory but nobody, other than ourselves, knows which of these numbers belong to our closest family or friends.
If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn't know who to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency? Hence this "ICE" (In Case of Emergency) Campaign
The concept of "ICE" is catching on quickly. It is a method of contact during emergency situations. As cell phones are carried by the majority of the population, all you need to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name "ICE" ( In Case Of Emergency).
The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn't know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose. In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and hospital Staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialing the number you have stored as "ICE."
For more than one contact name simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc. A great idea that will make a difference!
Let's spread the concept of ICE by storing an ICE number in our Mobile phones today!
Please forward this. It won't take too many "forwards" before everybody will know about this It really could save your life, or put a loved one's mind at rest .

ICE will speak for you when
you are not able to.

Thanks Mary Jane for the info, I think it's a great idea too.

Thursday 13

It's All About the Hair - The Good, The Bad and the Downright Nasty - in no particular order -

1.The poufy bangs - I'm the one in the black dress with the fushcia crushed velvet bodysuit underneath...oh yeah ladies...I'm dating myself here.

2.The blond hair...not so hot. and in a bob with bangs no less
3. Ah, the 'Blossom' hat - with bangs and bright pink lipstick. Yikes!
4. Perm #1. Who didn't want to look like Baby from Dirty Dancing?
5. Ewww...I think that was one of the first times I coloured my hair. I'm wearing those little cowboy boots that are really just shoes. 6. Pigtails are so cute on anyone! Okay, just kids, let's be honest I wouldn't look so hot with pigtails nowadays.7. My grad 'do. I did it all by myself and it was hottie hot hot. And of course this was a one-shot deal I've never been able to duplicate it again. 8. Grade 1 - Aaron and I watched Benchwarmers last night and I just about pee'd my pants when I came across my own mushroom cut pic.
9. This is more recent. I don't think I'm preg with Alex yet but still carrying the fat in the face...4 years later I think I'm still too. Bangs? Not so hot

10. Kathryn's wedding with my Gwen inspired bangs - they were super high and the sides all slicked back and the back part curly and all over the place

11. ...sigh...my summer hair, totally gorg, smooth and silky

12. ...I loved my hair this way so much it deserves 2 pictures

AND NOW....HERE's MY HAIRSTYLE TODAY

13. Curly, highlighted, lowlighted, and all over the place. I don't think I ever mentioned that I got a perm last month. Stop laughing, that's not a typo. I got a perm. The stylists laughed their asses off too. But in my defense I wanted a wave put in not a spiral perm. I ended up with something in between. If I goop it up and diffuse it it's curly but if it dries naturally and I brush it it's back to straightness but fuller. But my hairs been so traumatized that I can't even attempt a touch up to my roots. Gah, what a hair nightmare....

It's hard to believe my baby is 6 years old today!

Here's Joey at 6 weeks....

And here he is at 6 years....listening to his MP3 and playing his game Happy Birthday Joey!

My Eager Beaver

Last night Joey was invested into Beavers. He's thrilled to have his scarf and woggle so he looks like the other boys...that makes it harder on me though. Much easier to just look for the kid without the snazzy scarf.

Busy week coming up.

Tuesday - Joey's birthday/skating lessons

Wednesday - Auntie Kathryn and Uncle Jeff are coming for dinner

Thursday - pickup Beaver popcorn

Friday - Brooklyn's birthday, Ladies Bunco night

Saturday - Beaver bottle drive, Brooklyn's birthday party, Aaron's work party and Dave & Monica's party

Sunday - recovering from the week...and spending the day with Jonnie

I think all of our weeks kind of look like this until the holidays are over. This is probably why I have 3 bottles of Bailey's stashed in my house - to relax :o)

An interview from friend to friend

Now that's my kind of interview. No microphone 6 inches from my face or on the spot questions that surprise the heck out of me. Just a few questions from a friend that wants to know something about moi. Jenn was interviewed by Goofball and offered to interview any bloggers so I put in my best Oh oh pick me pick me and here we are:

1.What is the most romantic thing Aaron has ever done for you?

That's easy. Aaron surprised me with a weekend in Banff and proposed to me on a horse drawn sleigh. Ahhh, how romantic. It was a lot of planning on his part because he had to arrange with my boss to have someone cover my shifts for me and he had to pack my bags.

2. I know you are an avid reader, what are your top 3 favorite books?

1. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson- It's the book that made me fall in love with reading and faraway places in my imagination. In my opinion books always surpass the movie versions and I don't want to taint the movie version in my head. Does that make sense?-
2. Night by Elie Wiesel- It's a hard read but opened my eyes to autobiographies. It's a horrific book filled with such inhumanity but I just couldn't put it down. It could easily be the definition of survival.
3. Mercy by Jodi Picoult - All of the her books are so incredibly thought provoking and about subjects which may seem a bit taboo. This one was a page-turner I stayed up reallllly late one night because I couldn't put it down. If I had the time I'd start a book club solely on her books alone.

3.You are very close to your parents, has it always been that way? Even when you were a teenager?

I'm definitely very close to my parents now. We normally talk every day whether it's a quick email or phone call or a lonnnnnnng chat while I vent about that place that rhymes with Beers. In any case, I have the free long distance plan with Shaw and definitely get my money's worth. My boys like to call and leave messages on their grandparents answering machine too. When I was a teenager I had a rebellious phase - wore all black, stayed out all night without calling home...yep, I was pretty rotten at times but I think it shaped me into who I am. When I got to the fork in the road I could have kept going downhill but with help from my parents I took the less travelled path at the time and changed my attitude. Not a lot of people know but I actually was a high school dropout. I needed some time to regroup so I took almost a year off before returning to a new school to graduate. I had started school early so I still graduated with my peers. My parents supported me the whole time and it probably made us closer. My friends always thought my folks were the cool ones - looking back it's obvious why.

4. Other then planning excellent parties do you have any other hidden talents? If so what are they?

Aw, thanks Jenn :o) I do love to party plan! Other hidden talents? I can change a wet diaper while the child is standing up. Alex was so active early on that it was obvious he wasn't going to stay still for bum changes so I had to adapt to him. I also advocate for things I believe in whether it's products or services or policies.

5. Describe your perfect day.

Wow - that's a toughy. It would definitely include a lot of family stuff. We do a lot of fun stuff together it's hard to choose fave activities. Probably just hanging out with my boys at the park. I love to watch kids being kids. Aaron included of course, he's the biggest kid! Tobogganing with hot chocolate and mini marshmallows afterwards is a close second...the coldness is the deciding factor.

Well that's all folks! Thanks Jenn for some fabulous questions, if anyone out there would like to be interviewed or have any questions they'd like answered leave me a comment :o)

It was a furry good time today!

I think this was the spotted gecko

Jonathan wasn't really too sure what to think of the reptiles
Here's Alex holding the bearded dragon for oh about 5 seconds before he started screaming like a little girl and dropped it. In my lap which almost made me scream like a girl...
Joey with the bearded dragon
Hmmm..I can't remember what this guy was called

The birthday boys' cake of his choice - they didn't have YuGiOh so pirates were his next choice. The cake was delish!
Do any of you guys re-use gift bags? Well, I do. This gift bag contained Alex's birthday gift from Danny , then it held the boys gift to Danny , and now it has held Danny & Jonathan's gift to Joey. I think we've started a long running joke. I can picture our 14 year old kids getting a beat up old Transformer gift bag and wondering WTF?
Here's Joey checking out the bunny and guinea pig.
Joey petting Cocoa. She was the only pet that had a name.
Joey and I playing with one of the kitties.

It was a great party! No accidents - from the pets or kids, phew. Joseph had lots of friends/family over for the party and it was awesome.