Messy

What a day.

I seem to have been running about 2 hrs. behind all day. Probably why the kitchen looked like this.

Yes

I am not ashamed. I am REAL people. This is what it looks like almost everyday at least 3 times during the day. Before I put the gloves on and clean.

I did the HUGE Costco shop too so that makes it even messier as we arrived home just after lunch. Only...we hadn't eaten lunch. The kids were cranks. Avery had this particular fingernails down the chalkboard whine that was on skip for about 20 min until I threw some teething biscuits on her tray.

What a mess.

She is the MESSIEST EATER EVER. I am talking food everywhere, hair, clothes, face, ears, nose, diaper, even her feet.

So today I got smart and stripped her before her meal of penne pasta. Good thing I did.

Exhibit A.

Isn't she so cute though. I heart her so.

Easton just laughs at her when she makes a mess. He was so tidy and neat. He practically came out of me wiping himself with a napkin when he was born.

He was and is so neat.

He is so particular about having his hands clean and not dirty. Just like Mr.Man. He is the same. Neat. Together. Tidy.

Whenever we go out for dinner and get paper napkins we always compare. His napkin is always folded into a neat rectangle and mine is always scumpled up in a messy ball, ripped or covered in food.

We are so different in that department. I am jump in with both feet (okay...whole body) and he is a one toe at a time man.

One. At. A. Time.

I think that we rub off on one another so we do things less frantic or less turtle like. 6 years later and we are still checking out each others napkins. The metaphor for our lives.

Well...back to baby A.

She appears to have no concenrs with the amount of yuck she gets into.  In fact she appears to love it.

YAY!

Ya. Chillin.  

What? 

I love brushing my teeth. I have 4.  

But...every good food party must come to an end so when the whine record went back onto skip it was time to get her out on into the tub. Stat. 

She LOVES the tub. Loves. 

All clean. 

So after I put her down for her nap I went back to this. 

And a little of this...

And my favourite...

Yo. 

Good times. 

After about 30 min of some deep scrubbin' and some good tunes I saw this...

Sparkel. Love it. 

I love clean. I guess it is because it gives me a sense of control. When it is clean I feel I have some control over things...when it is not clean I feel out of control. I feel disorganized and overwhelmed. Clean is good. Clean is hard though. 

Good thing I have my little helper...

He's awesome. 

Best toilet paper stacker ever. Bar None.

I may get a phone call from child protection services for this one. It was his idea! 

(Don't worry...we recycled it)

And found a new fun thing to do. 

"Momma, take my picture!"

That is what it is all about. These moments. Simple. Uncomplicated. Easy.

Real. 

Finished the day off with some yummy homemade Pizza. And...another load of dishes. 

C'est la vie.

E.

Off to pack my bags now for a much needed girls trip to whistler. I won't be blogging until I get back so be sure to tune in Monday as I am sure there will be lots to report!! 

Beach Bum

This lack of sun is making me really want summer. 

WHERE IS IT!!!

Thoughts of summer make me think of warm beaches and lakes. Beaches and lakes make me think of...

Swimwear. Oh good god NO!

I am so white.

I am so out of shape...I am so...

Doomed.

Instead of cry...I thought it may be fun to do a what NOT to wear to the beach and a what TO wear to the beach. 

(Yes I do have time for this. American Idol is 2 hrs. and approx. 30 min of that is commercials. I am a PVR gal so this post may be short. Or not...)

What NOT to wear...

***No offence to anyone who may own/wear/want any of these items or have worn these items***

I am torn between the Lion full piece and the Corona Bikini as being my fave for inappropriate beach wear.

Corona...REALLY? Hmm....okay I could see it if I was 20. Maybe. Nooo.

Hell NO.

Then there is the Lucille Ball throwback polka dot number...wrong. You will look like a table cloth people. If you crave that vintage feel see the number below. 

Then there are the suits with Zippers and Neoprene (full on 80's style), Suites with Gold, more 80's Pastel with ruffels and Miami Vice nods. Of course there is the ever popular animal print number too. Looks like bra and panties to me. 

All of these should be left at home in the back yard along with the Cans of Bud and Sexy Tanning Lotion.

Word.

Do I need to comment on the Paris Hilton Suit? You know the one I am referring to above. Do I even need to mention the bad tan lines that suit would give you? Or the sand that will get in your heels when you run across the beach to fetch your kids, when catching a Frisbee with your boyfriend or making your way to the lou?

*Snort* *Snort* snicker, snicker.

{This is fun}

Now on to the good stuff...or how I see it.

What TO Wear...

Tunes on the iphone. 

Flips (not thongs...forget that word. People call them flip FLOPS now). Any colour will do. So many flavours. 

Get a hat...a big one. I am talking BIG no matter how foolish and stupid you feel. There is nothing sexy or cute about skin cancer.  Lather the SPF again and again. Then repeat.

I want the Ray Ban aviators. Bad. 

So bad I should have made them bigger in this picture.  

{Mr. Man reads this blog too...hint hint...my Birthday's coming}

I need to wear prescription eyewear so they are mucho $$. I wish I could just pop into any store and buy buy buy all the sunglasses I wanted, but alas...I can't. Well I could, but then I couldn't drive, see, read etc. 

I love the aviators because they are classic, timeless and go with everything. 100% UVB protection too. Yes please.

I am loving stripes this season. LOVING them...especially the full bottom bikini above. Meow.

I am going to be rocking the tankini myself this season as I have a few imperfections to hide. I also really liked the red full piece above. I think the cut would be flattering on a curvy gal or that skinny bitch.

The polka dot vintage one (see blue one above) is also a flattering choice as it will cover all the nasties, the halter helps the boobs and the fabric is forgiving (not tight or clingy). 

{Do I sound like I know what I am talking about? Even a little bit?}

I think the Chanel polish is a timeless colour and will really help to pop the tan. The straw bag will hold the sunscreen, towel, water, snacks, gum and book. May get a little sandy though. Hmmm....

Whatever you choose to wear this year to the beach, lake, pool, river, hot tub...make sure you ROCK it.

Besides a really good sunscreen, CONFIDENCE when in your suit is all you really need.

{oh...and those aviators.  Right Mr.Man???}

E

Spring Break - Playing with Scissors

So remember my post about wanting to change my hair? Well...it was a post way back and you can read about it HERE if you are really interested.

So I decided that I wanted to go short. But NOT uber short like this...

{I wish I could pull this look off. And the body}

After much debate worrying and fretting and looking and wondering and nail biting...I went under the scissors. 

Wait. Did I mention that I was kid free at the Salon and that I had a coffee, got to read Marie Claire and get a scalp massage? 

Did I mention that my AMAZING step momma did it for me? Cause she loves me. That's why. 

Did I mention that she is a colour goddess? A colour wizard? She has a magic wand and it just waves colour. She is amazing. I call her...Victoria Scissorhands.  

And my hair is tough to do. Like I am talking HELL hair. Thick is an understatement. It has a personality all of its own.     

This look is on a good day (no that is not me). This below is more me..

Okay...kidding...but isn't he cute! 

Seriously people...I have BIG hair. 

A lot of big hair. 

Victoria Scissorhands has been doing my hair since I was a wee baby and every time she takes a deep breath, perks herself up and says..."Lets Do It," or "you don't have this hair Erin," or else it is, "You won't like this - trust me." That is the best part...I trust her. 

Always. 

No matter what I come in with... I always come out happy. Pleased. Refreshed. Zestful. 

And VS has given me pretty-much every hair cut in the book. 

Bowl, mushroom, bob, reverse bob, inverted bob, shag, perm, straightened, layered, pixie...you name it, I have had it. 

From her. 

She indulges my every hair experiment, desire and whim.

Even when I begged to go dark.

Never again people. Please don't let me. It was fun for awhile...but I think I am a blonde thru and thru.  

So when I drove up...Tazo Lemonade energy drink in hand for her, armed with a picture and a dream for me...I waited. 

She sat down and looked at the photo...

She turned it sideways...over...upside down (okay not really) then deconstructed it and told me yes.

I started to get excited. Then she told me that it was going to be 3 hair cuts in one. 

Cause I have big ass hair. Deep Woods hair. Get lost in the rain forest hair. I am use to it. She gets all the other stylists to come over and feel it. Just touch it she says and they touch it and a look of empathy comes over their face. For VS cause she has to cut it. Her assistant now runs to the back when I walk in tossing my hair from side to side. 

I digress...

3 cuts in one! Good thing we are family or I would have to take out a loan to pay for my hair. Or just cut it off real sort for good. 

Well, God Bless her I say. And her Mad Skills!

So here is the before....

Cute...maybe. It was FUZZ city though people.

And then the after...

{I look scary here. Am I scary?} 

Not a HUGE change but she took like...10 inches off the back! Okay...6.

See!!

We still need to refine it...finish taming the beast so to speak. I had to run out to collect the kids so I left with my hair half wet and a wee bit frazzled. I strightned it the other day and liked it too...but dare I say I like it curly more? 

Yes those are natural curls...I inherited extra after I had baby A. It was like I stuck my finger in a light socket. 

The curls just showed up one day after drinking a vat of red bull. 

Hello Erin's hair. We are curly. Extra Curly and really really curly. 

We are here to stay. 

Deal.

So I try to work it. I need some good product. I am liking the Moroccan Oil.  Tames the nasties a wee bit. Still playing. 

Man I have a LOT of hair. 

Volume some say to be nice. 

It's loud. I know.  

But, I seem to be able to look at it and like what I see. 

I also see that there are NO...I mean absolutely NO pictures of me with my hair down in all the ga-jillion photos I have stored on my computer of the past 5 years (all on back-up of course thanks to Mr.Man). 

Well...hardly any of me at all for that matter. I need to get on that. Stat. 

Maybe you'll be seeing a lot more of me on this thing

...maybe not. 

What about you? Do you see yourself in your pictures? Or are you always hiding behind the lens? 

E.

Spring Break - Honey Bee's

If you look back at my blog posts you will see one that I made one recently about our trip to the HONEY BEE CENTRE  in Surrey. We had so much fun tasting and looking at honey that we decided to head back there with some of our besties from the island and do the grand tour.

Everyone itching to get in and explore.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the kids.

Would they be into it?

Would it be entertaining enough?

Would they get quickly bored and want to leave? 

As soon as we walked in the door my concerns went up in smoke...poof. They loved it. 1 hr of true Bee Bliss. 

They headed straight to the honey sticks. For $1 they can choose 4 sticks...16 flavours to choose from.  

While they debated colours and flavours Christie and I sampled the honey and chose our favourites. We both went for the orange blossom.  

Yummy yum. 

Then we paid our $5 dollars and began the self guided tour. We walked to the back room and went into the BUG Museum. The kids were handed little lab coats to wear, clip boards and magically became cute little mini entomologists!

There were lots of bugs, butterflies, insects, bees, larva, spiders and cockroaches to explore. 

The kids took their jobs of finding each insect on their sheet very seriously. It was so fun to watch. 

 

They kept running back and forth yelling out insects and spiders that they had found to one another...they could hardly contain their excitement. 

Miss S. points out the honey bees to the others. 

Once the scavenger hunt was over we headed to the video room where we could...

Try on the Bee Keeper Suits! So cute. 

Watch a movie on the Honey Bee Centre 

(long and boring...give this part a miss.  We had to break out snacks to keep them pinned down) 

Read books on Bees (Thank-you Teacher Christie) 

Look at "stuff" with the magnifying glass in our bee suits

 and of course sample honey, real honeycomb and eat honey sticks.

The kids didn't want to leave. But we did. It was such a nice day that it was almost painful to be inside. So we headed out...resisted the urge to hit Mc Donalds Drive thru and just snacked them up on the way to the Langley Events Centre. 

The 3 Musketeers on the Bee. 

Fitting don't you think? 

It was 12 degrees, but felt like 20. It was amazing and the sun felt sooooo good. It was fresh out, it was warm, it was blue sky and dare I say relaxing? 

Christie thought so. So did I. 

The astroturf was perfect for Avery. 

Why? She couldn't put it in her mouth. Nothing is worse than picking out bark mulch from your kids mouth and nose....shoes...toes..sox. Diaper. 

The kids played forever...this park is AWESOME and SOOOOOOOOOO clean. At least it was when we were there. IT was so clean we kept commenting on it. The kids could have cared less. Too busy...

 

And we chatted and chatted...to bad we didn't get coffee's.

Next time.

Thanks for coming out you guys...we had so much fun...sure we drank too much wine...stayed up to late...woke up too early...ate too much food..but it was fun. Plus we got together with Sister and I even painted my nails! There was sun sun and more sun.

Who could ask for anything more than that.

Well.

I could.

Wanna move here? It would be fun? Or I could move there...one day...one day I will be an Islander. Hope so anyway.

Until then...

...we miss you already...

E.