Par-tay!

It was Kid #1's 5th Birthday on Saturday and I decided a while back that it would be a good idea to have a simple, old school style birthday party at our house and invite all his friends from school.  (Does no one have simple kids birthday parties anymore??, there's always clowns, magicians, exotic or expensive locations and apparently you have to drop at least $500 bucks. I say no, this kid is ONLY 5.)  If I'm going to pay through the nose for a party I'll at least do it when he's old enough to remember it!!

We I chose to invite boys only to keep the numbers down...it's not like I'm encouraging gender segregation at an early age, just trying to make things manageable. And believe me 12  five year old boys was MORE then enough for Mama to handle. Fortunately my two besties were able to help out with the pandemonium party fun!

{Kid #1 is five today, whaaat!?!?!)

We had a Sponge Bob/Hawaiian party theme (since Kid is still in love with Hawaii after our holiday in Oahu this winter). The kids ate pizza, plenty of candy and chips, we had a limbo-stick game and a pinata to attack for prizes inside. Good times right?,,,if you're five I guess!

Later that night since my friends were in town to celebrate my birthday too and we really needed to drink have some fun, we went out for dinner to a cute little Italian place downtown, had a couple bottles of red and continued on for drinks at a place called Mercury. 

How do you spell post kids-party relief?!  W-i-n-e.

{Wine = self portrait time}

{ Toothy-grin shot} 

The nice "gentlemen" behind us were kind enough to buy a round of vino...thanks boys, laterz!  Use them then lose them I say!!

It's my party and I'll cry if I want to....

SO yesterday besides being the opening day of Sex and The City 2, it was Mama's Birthday!
 It seems like I'm quickly cruising through my early 30's but am still young enough to be in the all important 18-34 year old demographic.  We all know that you're basically a geriatric Golden Girl after 35, so I'm hanging onto my youth by the fingertips.  (Did that chafe a few of you seniors? I kid!)
So ok, yesterday was my berfday and a friend came over for dinner because Husband was working in the p.m. (as always.) And while we did have a family get together with my parents/brothers on Tuesday night to celebrate mine and Kid #1's 5th birthday (it's tomorrow), I still foolishly expected Husband to acknowledge my birthday yesterday evening when he got home from work.  And what time did he get home? He arrived at 11:00 pm after he left work to attend a meeting AND then went and hung out with his friends for coffee talk afterwards.  (Did I marry Linda Richman?) Apparently.

He comes in while I'm sitting on the couch finishing the last of a great glass of wine (watching a crappy episode of Grey's) and he's completely empty handed. No simple card, no grocery store flowers bought at the last minute. Nothing. He did NOTHING for my birthday. He doesn't call, text or do anything all day because he forgot that yesterday was my birthday.
Of course I'm not a child  and I don't need confetti and balloons to mark another passing year and no this wasn't an "important" birthday like 21, 30 or 35 (when the end begins...) but still, coooome onnnn!

What man doesn't do a THING for their wife's birthday? Never mind that 5 years to the day I was in the worst pain of my life giving birth naturally to his child. Does that count for nothing?

Eventually Husband caught onto my not-so-passive-aggressive stink eye while I was sitting on the couch and quickly and LAMELY tried to make amends. The fight ensued, I raged, teared up and stomped off.
 "Awww don't be like this Mama!" was followed by me yelling back, "NO don't YOU be like this!"
(Such drama eh?)

Since I'm not a total bitch I forgave him a few hours later after thoroughly lecturing him about his priorities... and what was his defense? "I've got nothing. You were right, I was wrong."   Wrong indeed Husband, wrong indeed.

{Husband will be staying here...}

Now am I the only woman out there whose otherwise wonderful husband has pulled an A-1, first class, douche-canoe move like he did??

Reunion rewind

We made it back from our long-weekend family Wine-Reunion 2010 and it actually turned out to be a pretty decent time. It was great spending time with family that travelled from all across the country to be together. (Canada is tres large.)
On Friday night Kid #2 ran laps around my aunt's home until I was sweating like a buffalo feeling a bit warm from chasing him. But fortunately one of my BFF's that lives in the city was able to take him away babysit the remaining evenings so I could at least spend a bit of time catching up with my relatives.
Mama may have gained 5 lbs in BBQ/Italian/Ukrainian food and wine but I'm pretty sure it was worth it!  All of the 3 days of family activities revolved around food and drinks. Is that normal?...

{Note serious focus by diners on dinner plates...that's how my family rolls. It's all about the food (and booze judging by the table of assorted liquor.)}

{ Dinner at my aunt's home, food,  food and more food....}

{My lovely cousin and me looking a little deer in the headlights-y}

{Our hotel room was actually 2 attached rooms that included a kids themed room. Of all the pictures from Finding Nemo they had to pick the one with angry sharks??!  Needless to say Kid #1 had some concerns about sleeping with the fishes that night.....}

We are fam-i-ly......

{Yee-haw, it's a family reunion round-up!}

...reunited and it feels so go-od!!  It's a long weekend in Canada and I'm going "home" to the city I grew up in for a family reunion. They're actually calling it a "Wine-Reunion"...what does that say about my family?... that apparently we're a bunch of Winoholics!   Nothing wrong with that I say, at least we're like-minded!

I'm not looking forward to driving with my 2 kids for 3 hours without Husband and I'm definitely not looking forward to sharing a hotel room with my parents who are also coming down. Just the 5 of us in a hotel room for 3 days.  Some more wine you say? yes. please.

That aside it should be fun, I'm looking forward to catching up with family I haven't seen in years and if it weren't for my pesky kids I'd be enjoying a whole lotta wine. But instead I'll be running around after Kid #2 since he insists on climbing up on chairs, tables, walls, etc.  We have dinners on Friday, Saturday and Sunday at family members homes and are any of the houses baby-proofed? Unlikely, so I'm praying the damage done will be minimal. No one wants their nick-nacks destroyed by a toddler. I'm going to be run ragged trying to keep my aunt's homes intact!

In the meantime in preparation for this upcoming weekend I've desperately aggressively tried to lose the last 5 lbs that have been dogging me.

I've tried everything lately, intense workouts, low carb, 48 hour liquid fast/cleanse (for reals) and just about everything else out there. And has it worked? No.  I swear my body has had enough of dieting. After losing 60lbs (on Weight Watchers) its pretty much said "no more weight loss for you Mama."  No matter what I do I can't seem to shake these last lbs to get back to my pre-second baby weight.  Maybe it's time to throw up the white flag and give up??!  Is it too much to ask to look decent in front of relatives I haven't seen in years?!? Apparently. Is 5 lbs really going to make a difference one way or another. No.
Now to figure out what to wear....

To spin or not to spin....???

So I've been mighty tempted to try out one of the Spin classes that are offered at my gym.
But I'll honestly admit that I'm a bit scared because I'm pretty sure it will kick my butt into next Thursday. I totally enjoy getting a good sweat on, and I'm all for pushing myself but spinning takes it to a whole new level.

I dunno what it is that I find intimidating...the fast whirly buzz of the silver spin wheel,  the urber-fit Tammy the drill sargeant instructor barking "take it up to level 10 bitches!" from the front of the class, or the fact that my rear will be numb for a month afterwards. And do I need to buy padded spin shorts (like my butt needs to look any wider) or special spin bike shoes? (Really, am I that person?)

  

But the pay-off is supposed to be soooo great. Burning 500 calories in class you say? Yes please.

And can it be any worse that subjecting myself to another bootcamp class? (I'm sooo over bootcamp BTW...)

Well it's either spinning or Zumba and since Mama's dancing skills are rusty maybe I should just suck it up buttercup and take the dang spin class.... 

Hello Lover....

Is it wrong to love a thing as much as I'm loving these shoes right now? They actually bring me joy!

{Why am I holding them instead of wearing them? Mama needs a pedi something fierce...these feet aren't worthy.}

While I really do lurve these Nine West Hamish peep toe strappy pumps (who names these?), my search for the perfect nude pump continues. And though I know where to get them and who makes them, until Mr. Louboutin tones down his prices I'll keep looking....

{Note the toe shape. Perfection. Someday maybe...someday.}

Summer of Fierce Fashion?

So finally finally the snow has left my part of the world and it looks as though spring is really here. The last few days have been sunny and fabulous and ba da ba ba baaa, I'm lovin' it!!!  But the big question is, what am I supposed to wear now that jeans, Uggs, and sweaters are all a bit too much?  It's far from smoking hot, but it's warm enough for something fun and summer-y-ish.

Commence Mama's Summer of Fierce Fashion -2010!

I'm feeling torn about what will work for me this season. There's lot's of great florals and cute dresses but I've got two kidlets to chase after and I need something a little more practical for everyday.  In the past I've always worn capri's, polo short sleeve shirts, tank tops, skirts (a few), flats and gladiator sandals.  This year I'm leaning more towards layering cardi's and tanks and my go-to fave, skinny jeans; but I don't know what else to wear on the bottom?  (Not knowing what to wear isn't USUALLY a prob for me but I guess the prolonged exposure to extreme winter conditions has done some short term brain damage.)
Here are a few things I've picked up in the last little while but I'm looking for suggestions/ideas on what's fun and easy to wear this summer. I need input here people!!  And as you'll see I do not need anymore tanks...

{Pale pink tank, H&M

{Black sequin tank, no jokes - Zellers}

{Leopard print and magenta and orange Striped Cardigans. I also picked it up in striped pale yellow  -Old Navy}

{Ruffle tank, but in Grey- Jacob}

{Tan wedge sandals- Old Navy. Way cuter on than they look here.}

{INC white linen shorts- Macy's}

Ok,  what fresh hell is this that I'm actually buying shorts?!  They are everywhere this year and while I swore off them years ago apparently I can't deny that they are back and are in and not going anywhere anytime soon. Blah cuz these legs aren't good enough, IMO....}

{Long Perfect Tank- Old Navy- have these in almost every colour they make. Versatilely for days!}

{Belted Sleeve Dress- Suzy Shier. Come on, they were $30.00/ea!}

So all these tanks aren't helping Mama's Summer of Fierce Fashion- 2010. I need more bottom half ideas. Throw down some suggestions please....

Orange is sooo March 2010....

Hey lovelies, hope you all had a fabulous Mother's Day weekend!  Husband and I had my parents and brothers over for a family dinner on Sunday nite. We had some great food (seafood linguine) and we polished off a bottle or four of wine. I was gifted with a few homemade cards and a nice grocery-store bought bouquet of flowers. Ahhh the rewards of motherhood!

This morning I was back to my regular salon to get my highlights overhauled after The Orange Hair Disaster of March 2010. My hair is back to a golden honey blond and all is right with the world again. It seems like such a minor thing but I feel so much better knowing my hair is back in biznass.
I like my stylist, he's a nice guy, chatty and seems knowledgeable enough (or at least he talks a good game). But he can never manage to give me exactly what I'm looking for.  I am still amazed at how hard it really is to get exactly what I want when I go to the salon. I always take in photos with me (on the off chance that my self imposed, mandatory 10 minute consultation of what I want isn't enough.)  But amazingly I often walk out of the salon disappointed. Over the years I have been to so many different stylists and different salons all in hopes of finding "THE ONE".... that being the perfect stylist who can make my hair look fab everytime and gives me exactly what I asked for. But since she/he does not exist I will settle for "Not too bad"...   
Are my expectations too high? No I don't think so...
But it now seems clearer to me than ever that I really do need to get in touch with celebrity stylist to the stars, Ken Paves. One of my readers was kind enough to tell me that she saw him in Vegas last weekend hanging out working with Eva Longoria and her large entourage.

{Hand him over bitch!}

Is it just me? Am I the only person who is never really happy with their stylist? Do you get exactly what you wanted when you walk out of the salon???

Cinco De Mayo and stuff

Ay yi yi yi!  Another Cinco De Mayo has come and gone and I managed to celebrate as any good Canadian would....by doing very little.  It's not that we can't relate to a commercialized, American/Mexican "holiday" created to commemorate the battle between the Mexican army and the French at Puebla in 1862. (Are you impressed by my knowledge of world history...yeah Canadian's are smart like that.)  It's just that any day that is celebrated by large amounts of Tequila, Cerveza's and Marg's is a good day in Mama's book. And since Husband and I own a pub...and it's early May in Canada (translation, nothing else better going on) we'll celebrate just about anything as long as it sells us more beer. Arriba! Arriba! Ole!

Kid(s) for sale....

Once again my children stand in the way of my blogging greatness. How am I supposed to write and research about the satin green Manolo Blahnik peacock pump?? (As worn by Molly on the Bachelor Wedding.)  They've been on my mind for a while and I am in lurve with these shoes but apparently they aren't available anywhere. Unless you're getting married on national T.V. to a guy you met on some cheeze reality show. 

{So delicious, no?}

Gathering useless information about things that don't matter takes time (honestly not that much), but if it did I'd really be pissed...demanding/needy children are no excuse not to produce a quality post. I have standards to uphold here...my readers are discriminating.

Case in point - Kid #2 refuses to nap today and is apparently entering the terrible 2's (never mind that he isn't 2 until August), I may have to resort to late-night blogging. That may cut into my TMZ viewing time. But since I despise TMZ (as mentioned here) that might not be a bad thing....
I'd like to blog about my latest shopping finds but again Kid is cramping my style. I attempted to shop with Kid #2 this morning at Winners (TJ Maxx) and was looking at a Missoni dress and a Pucci tunic. (Yeah our Winners is all high fashion like that.)

{Just imagine Mama in these....}

 Could I try them on? No. Were they still way too expensive anyway? Yes. But that's not the point. The point is that I wanted to try them on but Kid decided to have a nuclear meltdown in the size 9 shoe isle because he was out of Teddy Graham cookies.

all gone, no more

+

=

Lately my kids have been soooo demanding. I love my nuggets but I really could use a break from them. Maybe this is the PMS talking right now but if anyone wants to buy my kids just name your price $$. If you're already trying to sell your own kids thats fine because I happen to know some roaming European Gypsies that might be interested in taking your kids and mine. Maybe we'll offer a volume discount. With the money I make I'll go back to Winners and buy that Missoni dress.