Thoughts for Thursday

1..Swimming lessons have started on Saturday mornings!  I despise the water.....and get nervous in the shallow end while my feet are touching.....but the kids are loving it.  Hayden is in Sea Turtle again because his VRRI instructor wanted him to re-do it to gain confidence.  His Cardel Place instructor was surprised because he has already passed the level on class #2!  Oh well.  Confidence is a good thing.  Olivia continues to be a fishy and loves to sing the songs and jump off the side of the pool into the water even when Mommy isn't fully paying attention!!

2.. Saturday night out with the girls was super fun, and the service at DaGuido was..... interesting.  It's a long story :)  Regardless of the hour and a half wait to get our table....we certainly had some great laughs and some good eats.  Thanks ladies!  Looking forward to next time! 

 3..Toast.  My kids eat it every day, but their habits are completely different.  Olivia will eat one slice.  If we're lucky and the wind is blowing right.  Hayden is a bottomless pit.  He was STILL eating when I left for work on Sunday morning.....he was on his FOURTH slice!!  I'm thinking it's a growth spurt.  He also ate his teachers Nutri-Grain bar at school the other day because the snack I gave him wasn't big enough?!  Huh??  Sorry, Mrs.K :)

4..I wanted Hayden to stay home from school the other day because it was like -40 with the wind chill.  NO WAY Mommy.  What?@#!  I know one day I will be begging him to go to school.  Forcing him to get up and go.  But for now, it's me he needs to motivate when it's cold and miserable and I want to stay home and watch movies.  I thought PJ and movie day was every kid's dream day?!  Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy he loves school.  I love that he wants to go and play with his friends and learn a thing or two.  I hope to keep that feeling as long as possible.  Mommy just needs to suck it up.  And bundle up :)

5.. NOOD is the wickedest gadget-y store.  I bought some really cool magnets and pens and recycled paper note pads.  They had cool kitchen stuff too.  So I bought some trivets and silicone baking pans.  I could have bought A LOT more.  Next time :) 

6..Why have I had such a hard time finding a GOOD pencil sharpener??  I keep buying awful ones that end up chewing the pencils.   I remember that my dad used to have an electric sharpener on his desk and we used to love playing with it.  And it make wicked points on pencil crayons.  (Did anyone else love getting a new package of Laurentians, freshly sharpening them, and putting your initials on the little white space of each one??)  I almost paid $10 for a similar one at WalMart.  But I settled on the one for $4.97.  It works pretty good.  But it's not quite as much fun :)   I wonder if Dad still has that thing.....

7.. I think I may have been a teacher in a former life.  I stock-pile papers and pencils and markers and stickers and all of that jazz.

8.. I need to have an Olivia-cam.  She is saying so much and being so cute these days.  I think it would be fun to have the camera on her for a day just to capture the essence of "her." However, she may not allow it.  She's also developing the 2 year old 'tude.

9.. Hayden and I went tobogganing yesterday with his class.  Not a bad way to spend an afternoon at "school."  We had a RIOT!!  It was sunny and we were toasty warm in our 17 layers of clothing.  Hayden looked like a goober, because they insisted the kids wear helmets, but we had some good runs and some GREAT wipe-outs.  Hayden even went down the hill without me a few times.....he wanted to go with his friends instead.  Oh God, that's not starting already, is it??  But he sure did his best to tire me out first.....

10.I made the most delicious blueberry scones last night.  (We had creme fraiche left over from another recipe so I told Ralph to Google "recipes with creme fraiche" and find something delicious for me to make.)  The only thing that would have made them better....white chocolate and some raw sugar on the top.  Like my favorite ones Starbucks used to have.  Do you see why I would utterly fail the Wild Rose cleanse?@#!

10 on Tuesday

1..My new favorite tool is the OXO Good Grips cherry (and olive) pitter that I got for Christmas!  It perfectly pops out a pit with no mess and no squishy fruit!  Next up, Greek salad with delicious and pit-free Kalamata olives....yum!

 2.. We have had lots of pictures of the kids in cardboard boxes lately, and the newest box came from the new coffee table.  The kids were thrilled with such a giant box and were happy to play in it while we oohed and aahed over our new table.  Leave it at that?  No way!  Not with my creative genius and MacGyver of a husband :) The pretend "car" is now a pimped out bus, complete with fabric seat belts, headlights and a steering wheel!!

3.. And here is the new-and-improved living room!  We got a cool new coffee table, an end table, and Ralph refinished the arms on our chairs to make them dark wood too...love it!!

 4.. I finally had my hair colored on Friday!! My hairdresser is an educator for Redken and they launched some new colors......my gray is gone and I LOVE my new look.

5.. Ralph's Winter Celebration was on Saturday night.  An after-Christmas party on a blizzardy night....I almost wanted to stay home in my jammies.  But we drove to the Coast Plaza hotel and had a really nice night (thanks Scott and Tessa for watching the kids!)

6..You gotta love Payless shoes.  Where else can you get a fun pair of red heels (that toally match the new highlights in my hair!) and a wicked pair of purple flats for only $45.00??  And I went in for plain 'ol black heels :) My feet were frozen but they sure looked cute!

7..I registered Hayden in Kindy on Monday morning.  Wow.  My baby is going to school Monday to Friday.  I decided to register him at Tuscany School and we'll see how well it fits Mr. Hayden.  My hope is that he will excel in his new environment, and I'll have worried for nothing.  On second thought, I worry about everything so why would this be any different?!

8.. I have started Olivia's birthday party planning.  I'm thinking polka dots!!  And Ralph keeps warning me to NOT get carried away :)  I know she's only turning 2 and she doesn't care what the theme is, but it's so easy to be ridiculous!!

9.. I have a cold.  I feel yucky.  (It's either from my kids or the fact I went out half-dressed on Saturday night.  Or maybe a combo of both.)  I'm ABSOLUTELY NOT not giving up my New Years resolution to exercise more, but if I'm not feeling well, the last thing I want to do is work out. I'm on a brief hiatus until I'm healthy again.

10. Santa brought the kids these fun little plants for Christmas.  And they have already had their first haircut!

10 on Tuesday......plus one for Wednesday

1.. Christmas was quiet but good.  We had so much fun playing Santa for the kids, and their reactions were worth all the preparations!  The aftermath was shocking:

We hosted Christmas this year so the kids had lots of time to play while Mommy and Daddy cleaned up the mess and prepared dinner.  (We had non-traditional, but very delicious, Raclette.)

This is the only photo of the kids dressed up.....and standing still!

2.. Santa has a sick sense of humor.  Here's one of the little gems from my stocking:

We decided to try them.  I thought maybe they were being silly and just trying to make you think you were eating gross flavors. BIG mistake. I got a pencil shavings (ew!) followed by a juicy pear (...ok) and then a baby wipes (gross!)  I flat out refuse to eat any more. I'm not lucky enough to keep getting good flavors :)

3.. I asked for a watch for Christmas.  I got a watch for Christmas. It wasn't exactly what I was hoping for and I felt awful telling Ralph that I didn't love it.  He tried really hard to pick out something he thought I would like.  But what's worse??  Telling him I like it but never wearing it, or telling him I would like to exchange his gift for something else?? We did go and exchange it for a watch that I love.  And he said he'll never try to buy me a watch again.  I've come to the conclusion that a watch is a pretty personal piece of jewelery, and you're better off with a gift card to go and pick out one for yourself :)

4.. If Clairns makeup remover can take a Sharpie mustache off of a Cabbage Patch kid, imagine what it can do for your mascara!!

5.. Our New Year's Eve was pretty fun....until I had to work the next day at 9am :)  There was a big party at Tessa & Scott's, and though I'm not the biggest fan of the holiday, I sure had enough booze to make for a great time! You'll have to check Facebook for the rest of the debauchery.....

6.. Happy 34th Birthday Ralphie!!  Our Holiday celebrations are always brought to a close with Ralph's birthday (on January 2nd.)  I always feel bad for him that everyone is tired and done with the partying and going out.  I had to work this year so the poor guy even made his own dinner! (And Olivia blew out the candles on his cake.) But I got him some cool presents to make up for it :)

7.. Ralph went back to work today.  BOO!  Co-parenting this last week has been awesome and I miss having my hubby around.  Olivia has become quite the Daddy's Girl so she is also missing Daddy BIG TIME! 

8.. Fabric softener.  Where have you been all my life?  For someone who hates the animal fat crap in dryer sheets and refuses to use them, but struggles with static because the Method sheets she loves are not so great for the static cling....how have I NOT used fabric softener.  It really is glorious.

9.. December was a wash for working out.  And to be honest, so was November :)  As a result, I have gained.... 8 POUNDS!!! What?@#!  I almost fell over when I saw that ugly little number.  The weight-loss goal is actually 13 pounds. Minimum.  I had 5 extra pounds that shouldn't have been there in the first place, and it is glaringly obvious the eggnog lattes and holiday snacking took their toll.  Crap.

10. Time to knuckle down and work.  No more snacking.  Working out 5 days a week.  Hello New Year....and Bye Bye FATSO!! 

And one more for Wednesday:

This is my FAVORITE photo from the holidays.....my two handsome boys on Christmas day!

10 on Tuesday!

1.. I have NEVER been this late finishing my Christmas shopping!  I feel like I'm so far behind....yet I remain unstressed about it.  That's weird.  Check with me on Christmas Eve and we'll see how I'm feeling then :) 

2.. The biggest reason for #1 is that you simply cannot shop with an almost 5 year old and expect him to keep your secrets! Or keep up with the amount of stops necessary!!

3.. Just to add to the behind-the-eight-ball feeling, we hadn't had our picture with Santa until last night.  (Due to the WORST 2 WEEKS. EVER.)  I did a little on-line research and decided the best bet for us was Deerfoot Mall.  The Santa looked super Santa-like, and the line ups were sure to be shorter that Market Mall!  I dressed the kids all cute, did nice ponytails for Olivia, and waxed up Hayden's 'do.  We talked about going all afternoon and the kids were really excited.  Well, let me re-phrase that, Hayden was really excited.......

Despite our best efforts, and the efforts (and laughter) of a VERY gracious Santa, Olivia was having NO PART of this holiday tradition!  Santa assured us it was "just her age" and she will have a totally different experience next year :)  One can only hope every year's photos don't look like this!!  The upside?  Hayden looked like a little angel and he had a good chat with the big man..... after we removed his screaming sister form Santa's lap?@#!  I would HIGHLY recommend this Santa.  He was really cool, and great with the kids.  We walked right in and there was ZERO waiting.  And, each of the kids got a bag of little presents to take home.
Aahhhhh, that was an experience for the books!  I think I need a double eggnog.

4.. I'm not sure what the eggnog LATTE count is up to.....or the spiced rum and eggnog for that matter.....but I know the scale will reveal the damage soon enough.

5..Speaking of Starbucks.....my husband received his GOLD CARD today!  I didn't even know Starbucks had such a thing.....and I know a few other coffee-addicts who would be eligible for this VIP status! 

6.. Speaking of eggnog......I discovered a guilt free version!  My eggnog scented candles just arrived!  Mmmmmmmm.  And I got gingerbread creme ones too.  Smells like holidays.  Without the calories :)

7.. Hayden learned the cutest little poem:



8.. Pop-Up Pirate is going to give me a heart attack!  Hayden got this cute new game and I jump 10 feet EVERY time the pirate pops!! Hayden, of course, thinks its hilarious.  I was proud of him for choosing a game (with his $10 from Great-Grandma Pearl) instead of another car or transformer or something for the sake of something.

  
9.. My son is a card shark.  We play a lot of Go Fish! and we have started playing Crazy Eights too.  I also bought him Snap! but he doesn't love that one as much as I do :)


10. Keri and I are finishing our shopping TONIGHT!  Our husbands are out shopping for us this afternoon while we're home with the kids.  We're doing a hello and here's the kids and then we're off to shop for them.  Fun!

Santa's Magic Sleigh!

 Hayden had his preschool Christmas performance on Friday.  

Only a mama can stand and sob while her 4 1/2 year old baby 

sings and dances his little heart out :)

Thoughts for Thursday

1.. Here's a little more Christmas cheer for ya'!

2..We must have a vortex for lost things in my house. I suspect it's Olivia and I have NO IDEA where her hiding place is!  First, it was her black bows for her hair.  She took them out before we left the house and I still haven't found them.  Next, it is the snowshoeing bird I had placed in our bookcase for Christmas.  Gone.  I've looked everywhere!  The latest victim is my scrub brush for dishes.  They were playing with it 'cause it has a suction cup on the end and it makes a funny noise when it comes un-stuck :) and now it's gone too!

3.. I am living with pete and re-peat.  Everything Hayden says, Olivia tries to repeat.  It's a fun little game we play.  Yesterday it was the word "gooey" which had us in giggles :)

4..Sunday at work was fabulous damaging for my ego.  They're NOT "natural highlights" and calling them that doesn't make me feel better about them.  It's wiry gray hairs, folks.  And they're multiplying.  Nor am I expecting another baby, but thanks for noticing I'm fat.  Thanks for shopping and Happy Holidays to you too :)

5..Ralph and I went shopping without kids (thanks Tessa!)  Wow.  You can get a lot done when there aren't little people around demanding your time and attention and patience.  We even managed a quiet dinner together.  A very successful trip to Cross-Iron Mills indeed.

6..I am very impressed by Ralph's ability to put ponytails in Olivia's hair.  He has done it twice and he does a pretty great job.  'Atta boy! 

7..I FINALLY sold my stroller!  I {heart} Kijiji once again.

8..Now that Hayden wants to spell and sound out EVERYTHING, we have had a challenge with "c."   How do you explain to a 4 year old that "cake" and "cat" don't start with "k," they start with "c!"  I found a word to illustrate my point....circle.  I think he understood (?) that "c's" can be tricky because they can sound different!

9..There should be some sort of cosmic understanding that when you run into someone you haven't seen in a long time.....you should look HOT!   You should NOT be at the end of your day, looking frazzled at your children with little trace of makeup, old jeans and 3 day old hair!  And claim you are a makeup artist?!  Aarrgghhhhh!

10. I don't like night showers. I'm a bath at night and wash your hair in the morning kind of girl.   (except for yesterday, aka #9!) I think it's because I am not blessed with wash-and-go hair.  I require blow-drying and flat-ironing and I NEVER feel like doing that before I go to bed. 

Sinterklaas 2010

We celebrated the annual Dutch tradition of Sinterklaas

at Tessa & Scott's this year!
 

We had a delicious Dutch dish for dinner, threw around some papernote for dessert 
(think teeny-tiny gingerbread cookies) 
put the kids to bed, and started our highly anticipated gift exchange!

As always the presents are a surprise....though that is getting harder to do

with kids around who like to unknowingly spoil secrets :)

Ralph, who is the king of the most intricate and "challenging" surprises,
drew Tessa's name......

....but she wasn't puzzled for long and solved the clue to find her yummy gift!

Quite coincidentally, Tessa drew Ralph's name.....

.....and Ralph's very own life-sized DVD, starring himself, held the clue to his presents!

Henk drew Scotties name and there was fear in his eyes 

'cause Henk is known for the messy surprises.....

....he didn't disappoint when Scott had to sift through a giant  industrial strength inhaler, containing 72 cupcakes, to find the thumbtack 

which had the clue to his present written on it!

I drew Eveline's name and thought she could use the zipline skills 

she learned in Mexico to make her job much easier.....

....but she had to dig through a 40 pound box of sand to find her presents!

Scott drew my name this year and I am usually the recipient of

a messy surprise too.....

I too had to pick through 72 delicious cupcakes to find letter clues for an anagram 

giving me the location of my gifts!  

(the reason I know they were delicious is because I ate 

half a dozen of the damn things just from licking my fingers!!)

Last but not least, Eveline had Henk.....

A giant hand-crafted tennis ball full of tennis balls 

held the letter clues for Henk's gifts!

We had a great time with LOTS of laughs,

and look forward to the next time 'Sint comes to town!

TGIF

1.. I'm going to be vague and brief by saying this has been THE WORST week EVER!  If you haven't heard about it already, when I see you in person, I'll share the brutal details.  If you know the story, thank you SO MUCH for being supportive.

2.. Indirectly related to #1.....I HATE Mondays!  They are a total blur.  Hayden goes to school at 12:15 and Olivia comes right home for a nap.  I wake Olivia up from her nap to pick Hayden up at 3:15, we're home for 20 minutes then we're back in the car and off to soccer.  Soccer is for an hour (which I don't get to watch much of because I'm keeping Olivia out of trouble) and we come home again for dinner.  All by 5:15p. Whew.

3.. I LOVE Tuesdays.  We have NOWHERE to be :)

4.. I need to choose a Kindergarten for Hayden.  Everyone with children please weigh in. I'm thinking Tuscany School is "out" because I don't hear great things about it.  I don't want to take him there just because it's close. I don't think it's "necessary" to go private, but that's only MY personal opinion.  I survived public school!  I'm thinking about the TLC program at Brentwood......

5.. Why is it that my cats are smart(??) enough to poop in the bathroom when they are too lazy to use the litter box?  Gross.  Sorry.....that came WAY out of left field.

6.. We did some shopping at Cross Iron Mills the other night.  They should really put a pen around this floor and charge babysitting fees.  They would make a fortune!  And the adults would actually get some shopping done :)

7..I FINALLY got Hayden's school photos back!  What a little dude he is:

8.. I heard on the radio that WalMart is open 24 hours from now until Christmas.  Is it weird that I want to go in at some un-godly hour just to see who's shopping?!  Is it also strange that it sounds appealing to go in and simply wander about and maybe get some shopping done.  Without my children.  When it's not busy?!

9.. On the other hand......sleep is SO valuable :)

 10. We are totally in the festive spirit at the Deters household.  Olivia is learning new words every day and is now picking up song lyrics.  She gets that from her Grandpa :)

Special Delivery.....

My Uncle Tim arrived last night after a trip to Saskatoon.

He played "Santa" and delivered presents from 
Grandma & Grandpa and Auntie Kelly & Uncle Jeret.

They, of course, loved the box!

Now I have to make sure my kids resist temptation

and stay away from all of the fabulous presents under the tree :)