10 on "I'm trying not to fear the unknown" Tuesday

1..The name sounds hilarious, the packaging is clean and simple, the price point is AWESOME, and if the products actually work......I'm hooked.  Line and sinker.  I'm a total sucker for catchy fun new products.  Check 'em out!!  Nip+Fab 

2..It's LEGO mania at my house these days.  Hayden is loving his Lego mini figures and Daddy loves getting out his old Lego stash and playing too :)  It's no surprise that Hayden wants a Lego themed birthday party at the end of the month!

And look what little gem arrived in the mail today:

3.. I wonder if there is a perfect coffee pot out there that doesn't leak when you pour?@#!  We bought a $40.00 one.  It leaked.  We just bought a $100.00 Kitchen Aid and it leaks too.  Boo! All I want is a nice, hot, delicious cup of coffee in the morning.  I do NOT want to start the day by cleaning when I'm not fully awake :)

4..I bought myself some new rubber boots!  Not Bogs or anything crazy like that.....just a pair from WalMart that are lavender/pink/brown plaid.  They are fun for splashing about with the kids (I'm embracing the newly Springy weather!) and they'll be great for slipping on when we go camping.

5..I wonder if we will have any heat when we go camping??  We are going the last 2 weeks of July with Tessa & Scott and the kids.  I'm really looking forward to our annual excursion to Idaho and BC, but Summer still feels SO FAR away!! 

6.. I also wonder if Hayden is going to be able to play outdoor soccer??  We are supposed to start at the end of April and I'm not sure the snow will be melted!!  If it is, the fields are going to be really wet and then they don't let you play.  Last year it was a chilly start to the season on those frosty Saturday mornings.  Now we play Tuesday and Thursday nights.  Again, I'm totally praying for HEAT!!

7..I was super impressed by the Customer Service department at EQ3 this week.  We have to return our new table because the wood is peeling/chipping!  I sent photos and they ordered me a new table.  The end.  They are SO getting some card love :)

8.. I have booked SIX weddings.  That's right....SIX.  I am in the process of trying to book number SEVEN.  You won't see me on Saturday mornings for the whole Summer.  I'll be beautifying brides and their wedding parties!

9.. I hope I have made the right decision about leaving Shoppers.  I hope Estee will turn out to be the change I am looking for.  I'm afraid it won't be the consistency I had.  I'm afraid the  kids I won't adjust to using a day home.  I'm afraid I won't find a GOOD day home.  I'm afraid if things don't work out I'll seem like a failure.  I'm worrying a lot these days.   

10. We hit Stir Crazy today....WOWZERS!!  It is a really cool place for the kids to play and I hardly saw Hayden the whole time!  (He was the sweaty little turquoise-blue clad streak that whizzed by every now and again.)  Getting him to leave was the hardest part 'cause he was having too much fun!!  Olivia was a little more cautious but she had lots of fun dragging Mommy up and down the slides.  Perhaps that's why the girls and I never had a chance to sit down and chat :)

My Shutterfly book has arrived!

Click here to view this photo book larger

10 on "down with germs!" Tuesday

1..Hayden was a super-sickie this week.  Poor little dude.  It started with his first headache, then a super high fever, gross cough and just generally feeling ROTTEN.  He has been completely lethargic and NOT himself :(  He fell asleep on the floor while I was making lunch.  He fell asleep on the couch while watching TV.  I put him to bed and he slept for another 45 minutes.  I kept thinking, "who is this kid, and what did he do with my energetic little boy??"

2..I painted Olivia's toes & fingers.  She loves that I always have different nail polish so she wants some too.  I had to set her up with Dora on TV, juice and a snack to get her to sit still and dry :)

 3.. Olivia is sometimes a lefty and sometimes a righty.....but she's always a cutie :)

4.. I got a new different job!  I'm going back to Estee Lauder!  This is good news for T and K who LOVE the ANR eye cream :)  I'm super excited that I get to go in and do different events in different stores, so you'll see me all over the city!  I also plan to use this job to make some great contacts for BLINK!


5.. I am in the process of booking another wedding for BLINK!  All 3 of my Summer weddings are booked back-to-back so I'm going to be a busy lady!


6.. Does anyone else watch "An Idiot Abroad?"  It is a super funny documentary-type-series about an "idiot" named Karl who gets sent around the world to see the Seven Wonders by his friend Ricky Gervais.   It is laugh-out-loud hilarious and Ralph and I are hoping they can convince Karl to do a second series.  You've got to check it out :)

7.. And then on Friday, it was Olivia's turn to get sick.  Fever kept going up.....she wouldn't eat dinner....threw up on Mommy......had a bath and went to bed.  Now she sounds like a little buzz-saw with her scratchy throat!

8..Ralph found the coolest ice cube-freezer-thingys made by SCHUR:

http://www.schurconsumerproducts.com/skabeloner/skabelon10/?id=10&setlanguage=2

We have the ones that are long and skinny for re-usable water bottles.  They are AWESOME!  Don't order them, I can hook you up with a bag of 20 for $0.99!!

9.. Ralph brought me home new hanging files, new file folders and a bunch of labels.  I'm giddy at the thought of beautifying my filing cabinet.  I'm a freak.  I know.


10. Something occurred to me.....I have a lot of funny little peccadillos.  Perhaps we all do.  Maybe I'm just one of the ones who can point them out and have a good laugh about them.  Don't even get me started on dual light switches......

10 on "busy as a bee" Tuesday!

1..Dior #786 Mysterious Mauve lipstick has put me in a great mood today!

2.. And my "new" hair.  It's amazing how great you feel after having your hair re-colored. I had my grays colored back to their naturally brown state :) and got a trim.  I feel fabu!!

3.. I am very proud of my fingernails these days.  I never bit my nails but my terrible habit was to chew on my fingers.  Gross, I know.  I found a way to stop....I keep my fingernails prettily painted!  Last week was gray, this week a deep dark red, next week something new! 

4..Olivia and I went swimming (with Oma, Auntie Tessa, Brody & Sienna) at the VRRI on Friday while Hayden was at school.  Olivia has no fear.  She was dive-bombing down the slide and I swear the lifeguard was looking at me like, "seriously, can't you calm your hazardous child down?!"  Come to think of it, maybe she was staring because I forgot Olivia's bikini top and she was topless :)

5..Hayden was skiing at COP for school on Wednesday.  I was SO PROUD of him!  He put his ski boots and skis on without any fear and off he went with Ed the instructor!  They learned how to scrape the snow with their skis and "make pizza" aka snow plow.  He went up the magic carpet to the top of the bunny hill.....and down he came!  I'm not sure he was super pumped about the thought of going again, but I was sure proud that he tried, and did really well at something completely new :)

6..How is it possible that I remember all the song lyrics from every old song on the radio, but I can't remember what's on my calendar for the week??

7..Hayden helped bottle our new batch of Pinot Grigio.  He was quite intrigued by the whole process.  Kids drink wine in France at an early age, right?!

 

 Thankfully, he wasn't impressed with the taste :)

8..We put a new mirror in our entryway.  I love how it looks.....but it needs a new table to go underneath it so it doesn't look lonely :)

9..Trying to find a LEGO cake pan has been impossible!  The one I found has been discontinued.  Just my luck :(  Guess I'll attempt to do the slab cake/cupcake homemade version of the lego block.  But I think I have some super cool cookie cutters coming from Holland?!

10.I have a photo shoot tonight, at the Big Picture studios,  and I'm looking forward to doing some pretty makeup!!

10 on "I need to smile more" Tuesday

1..Ralph goes in for knee surgery today.  The worst part?  The unknowns.  He goes in at 11:30 but he could be done anywhere between 6:30 and 8:30.  That seems like such a long time!  Then, depending on what they find when they open up his knee, he could be out of commission for 2 days....or two weeks.  I know he's nervous but because he's tough and he doesn't want me to worry, he pretends it's not that big of a deal.  He'll be alright.  I know he's tough, but it's VERY hard for him to sit still.  We have put all appointments on hold until after today.

2..I had to laugh (to myself of course) just a tiny bit that my husband was "Nair-ing" his knee when I walked into the bathroom last night.  Have you seen how hairy his legs are??  There is a very obvious bald band around his leg.  That is much colder than the rest of his leg :)

3..Hayden gave me all of his purple fruit loops this morning.  Does he love his mama or what?!  I wasn't about to tell him that I don't like Fruit Loops :)

4..Hayden started un-parented skating lessons on Saturday.  He did AWESOME!




5..Olivia is a dancing fool!  She has some super cool new moves....



6.. We have started potty training.  We were 50/50 yesterday. I'm already about to give up 'cause I'm not sure she's ready.  Or maybe I'm not ready because I'm quickly remembering just how much work it is to stay home and closely monitor your child.  And say the words "do you need to go pee" about 85,000 times :)

7..I may be making a job change. I need a change.  My kids need a change.  Stay tuned.....

8..My skin has been total CRAP lately.  I haven't had breakouts this bad since I was a teenager.  Nothing like being a zit-covered makeup artist to help advertise your work :)

9..Hayden goes for his first ski lesson at COP tomorrow.  He's excited and I'm nervous!  I don't ski so I'll be sweating through the smiles on the sidelines.  He's going with his classmates and supposedly they don't even allow parents on the hill while the kids are having their lesson.  Fine by me 'cause I'm sure I would only induce panic in him.  Or maybe I should hop in on the lesson and learn how myself :)


10.My sister got ENGAGED in Jamaica on Thursday night!!  I am so excited for her and Jeret and I can't wait to help plan for her BIG day :)

10 on "is it Spring yet?" Wednesday

1..Olivia's birthday party was a success!  I'll be the first to admit I went a little crazy with decorating, but I sure enjoyed it!!  I kept the banner and pom-poms I made up until yesterday (Ralph took them down) 'cause I  was proud of my crafty accomplishments :) I made picks for the cupcakes that coordinated with the banner and I made Olivia's special Birthday Girl party hat.

 

I LOVE this banner!  It will be a staple for all my future parties....

 

...the pom-poms before I hung them from the ceiling...

 

Hot Chocolate on a stick.....a la Keri B.

...thanks for the super cool shirt, Auntie Keri!

Olivia had to call Grandma & Grandpa!

Auntie Kelly has begun PhaseI of Pony-palooza!

 

the Birthday Girl was allowed to eat all the snacks she wanted!

Nala (from Grandma & Grandpa) is Olivia's favorite new lovey and

she hasn't put it down since Sunday morning!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my SWEET little GIRL!!

2.. Ralph had to leave for Toronto immediately after Olivia's party.  BOO!  This is the second year this has happened but thankfully it was only for 2 nights.

3..Hayden's last indoor soccer practice/game was on Monday.  The coaches chose to give each child a ring pop for a reward for hard work.  Seriously??  Soccer ended at 5pm.  Dinner time. All you could hear in the change room was the battle cry of every child saying "I want to have it now!!" and every mom responding "not until after dinner!!"   

4..Now that I have become one of those people who has to color her hair, it amazes me how fast those little gray buggers appear.  Root touch-up time!  And, I am at a point where I need to either press on with this hair growth plan, or abandon ship.  This particular phase is driving me MAD and I really feel like chopping it all off again.  But then I think, I have come this far.... how can I quit now?!  Aaarrghh!!

5..I'm going to have an Epicure party this month.  A Saturday night perhaps??  A chance to sample some of my new wine perhaps??  Oh yes, and have some food and get some spices too!  Who's in??

6..Swimming lessons done!  I have a Sea Turtle who graduated to a Salamander and a little Duck who will now be a Sea Turtle!  They were so proud.  And Hayden's instructor told him that "you were one of my favorite kids to teach this session!"  Hayden was over the moon.  And mommy was very proud too :)

7..I'm diligently working on a "Year in Review" book for the Deters family in 2010.  I'm using Shutterfly again because it's very user friendly.  I don't have the time to Scrapbook, so this is a practical way to print and love my photos.

8..Vanilla Dee-lite hand lotion from LUSH.  It's saving my poor dry hands.  I love it because it's not sticky, but it keeps your hands soft and protected.  Bonus points because it smells like vanilla and coconut.  (The girl who introduced me to this product is laying on a beach in Jamaica right now.  I hate her 'cause even though she really deserves a break I'm madly jealous because I didn't get a hot holiday this winter love her.

9.. I need bronzer today.  LOTS of bronzer.  And I'm working in layers.  Everyone should have at least one :)  Or 6 in my case.  The liquid bronzer I love (from Clairns) has been discontinued but I have a stockpile.  Thank goodness.  It looks like soya sauce and most people are scared of it but I've converted many.  It gives a nice little base glow.  I have many favorite bronzing powders from Benefit to Smashbox to the ol' reliable Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess.  It all depends how I'm feeling.  And then, the best thing ever......bronzing spray.  Either Dior or Guerlain.  It's a lovely little finishing touch of bronze mist.  And I've painted my toenails in bright pink to try and get me outta' this funk.

10.  On the bill today?  Pumpkin Spice muffins.  Hayden saw Curious George make them and he thought they sounded delish.