Fave song of the day

Santa doesn't roar Liam, he says HO HO HO!

Busy day at the Beck's once again

A few birthday pics

A few karate pics of JT

A few karate pics of Alex

Karma at its finest

A few weeks ago our youngest went to see our family doctor for a checkup and do talk about some health issues. He's a bit on the husky side and we were wondering if we should be concerned now or if he's just in need of one good growth spurt to even out. Well, the doctor had zero bedside manner and gave poor Aaron a talking to about healthy food choices. Hmm. Has he met our other son who has the exact same diet as his brother and is a stringbean? That's why we were thinking it could have been something else.
Anyways - the whole point to this is that I said : I think I need to start actively looking for a new family doctor. In Calgary that's pretty much unheard of, we're actually lucky to have a family doctor.
Well, lo and behold we get a letter in the mail yesterday that our family doctor is going back to surgery and giving up most of his family practise so we have 3 months notice to find a new doctor.
It sucks getting dumped. It feels just as bad now as it does in Grade 11, lol.
I can see why he wouldn't keep us on his preferred client list though. We're generally healthy people that only see him once a year for routine checkups. It's like we're being punished for being healthy though?

Mom's CAN be cool. Really, they can

I had heard about these belts from another mom and just had to find them.
It became an obsession. The belts themselves are pretty cheap - $20. The taxes/import duties/shipping on the other hand are not. $20 per belt. Which makes each one $40. BUT in the big picture Aaron and I would pay that much for a nice belt so who am I to judge?
Heather found the belts at a mall by her place but there's no such kiosk at Southcentre or Chinook Centre. Maybe Market Mall?
If I can manage to keep them a secret they'll be for Christmas...no guarantees though. They're just SO COOL. And my kids will actually be able to buckle/unbuckle them without a problem, lol.

Who needs to pay for entertainment when you have kids that do it for free?

Snowboarding 101

The boys tried out snowboarding this weekend with some lessons Saturday/Sunday. It was definitely hot and cold. Yes they loved it but man oh man was it ever flipping cold out there! Sadly enough it was exciting to see it was only minus 16 this morning. Welcome to Winter!

Some Friday humour from cousin Lee Anne

At a dinner thrown in her husband's honour, a man turned
to Madame Chretien and said, "Your husband has been such
a prominent public figure with such a busy schedule. How
quiet retirement will seem in comparison. What are you
most looking forward to in these retirement years?"

"A penis." replied Madame Aline Chretien.

A hush fell over the table. Everyone heard her answer yet
no one knew what to say next. Jean leaned over to his wife
and said, "Aline, in Hinglich dey pronounce dat word, "Appiness."

It's days like this that we stop to appreciate what really matters

Why does America have way more variety than Canada?

Yummy!

My foodie friend sent a nice treat in her son's backpack for me today. One tea bag, some frothy milk a dash of spice and mmmmm a little slice of heaven.

It pays off to read the manual sometimes

Apparently my camera is wayyyyy cooler than I thought. Who knew it could even do this stuff? I thought my friend had the same camera that I had but then seen her lovely colour accented H'ween pics and then had second thoughts.

So, when Aaron was at hockey the other night I dug out the manual and then yesterday remembered to charge the camera batteries and then this morning.

Voila.

The kids and I discovered something new. Where did the colour go? What colour should we accent. Nathan liked red the best because of his Diego shirt ;o)

You know what I love about tonight?

Finding out at 9 o'clock that my child did indeed NOT complete his homework that he started last night.

Guess what we're doing right now?

But we did manage to have a relaxing day up until this point...

Seriously? Was I really attempting to climb up the wall? ...shaking my head...I dunno folks...

All I wanna do is just zum-zum-zumba!!!

That's next on my to-do list.

Have you checked it out yet? Any Zumba choreographed by Nathan Blake looks like so much freaking fun if you're into dancing and not giving a crap if you look like an ass while doing it.

Welcome to Holland

This is a must read for everyone. It's an essay written about embracing the differences in our children.

It wasn't that long ago that our son was described as non-typical and labelled as developmentally delayed.

I think I've forgotten those feelings of guilt that I caused this, or the frustration from other parents and family that just couldn't understand or accept that he was different.

Reading my wonderful friends blog and how she's feeling as she expereiences this has brought back all these feelings and questions.

It's not a happy place that's for sure.

Why can't everyone just be accepting and embrace our differences.

It's probably easier to criticize and eye-roll then offer a smile and understanding.

Where's my checklist?

When is it okay to send your kid to school when they're feeling a bit sick?

No, really. I want to know.

Alex had a persistent cough last night that didn't really subside until the wee hours of the morning. He woke up feeling fine but with the nasty cough still so he's having a home day. He seems good at this point which makes me wonder if he should have just gone to school.

On the other hand I don't want him to spread his coughing germs around the classroom.

Is there a checklist?

Do the teachers get royally ticked off when a sniffling kid comes to school and is blowing their nose all day long or coughing?

What's your criteria for staying home from school?

Women will laugh - guaranteed.

I asked one of my friends what her plan was for her day off today. Her reply:

"I'm going in for my SCOOCH N SCRAPE".

Priceless. It almost makes it sound like something fun to do like the Hokey Pokey.

Why JOE? Why?

I love JOE clothes. On OTHER PEOPLE.
Everytime I buy something "JOE" I wind up looking frumpy or pregnant which are two looks I try to avoid on a daily basis.
This will be strictly dayhome use only. The kids don't judge, just wonder if there's a baby coming.

Ew. It's Monday

JT was wide awake last night.
Sugar high I'm sure you're all thinking but that's only the half-truth.
After trick or treating we headed to our friends and JTs good buddy Andrew gave him a can of Coke which he chugged after showing off his hip-hop routines and having a run around time with his bro.
In Mexico JT had Coke and it didn't really seem to have any effect on him but last night I was woken up at midnight, 1, 2, 2:30, 3:45 and 4:30. At the last wake up JT asked if I remembered that one time when I slept on the couch while he was sick and he just laid and watched a movie...I vaguely remember that, it's been YEARS knock on wood since they've been stay-up-all-night-throwing-up sick. Knock on wood. Anyways, I was just about to say yes we'll go downstairs and then reality set in and I sent him back to bed. It's not like he's sick and why wreck my sleep any more.
It's lucky for JT there's no school today.
Is it coincidence that there's no school the day after Halloween?