Things I am loving today

Since I don't have my new stuff done for you yet...I will just post pictures of things I love this week:)

I love the fact that the Rachel Zoe Project is back...along with Flippin' Out.

I guess I just love Bravo.

Honestly...who wouldn't want to look this fabulous.

In my mind I look this fabulous while I am working. 

Ha.

I dislike mirrors as much as I dislike photos of myself.

So I like to avoid them and pretend this is what I look like.

Ok.  Other things that I like.

Madewell

I am not totally sure of the connection to JCrew.

But I believe Madewell is JCrews sister store.

All I know is that I adore JCrew (who doesn't) but honestly...my life..

I am more Madewell.

I cannot believe that I can even look at this jacket since it is blazin' hot outside.

But I can.  I love it. 

Kid wise...kids are hard to dress.

Or at least mine are.

And hair.  Oh lord...don't get me started on hair.

If Ainsley makes it to Monday without a major haircut...I will be impressed with my restraint.

Again with the Fall clothes that we can't wear until November.  So cute though.

Forever 21 kids.  Love it.

I would wear this.  Is that bad? 

Do I need to grow up?  Ya ok...nevermind.

Also, check out these headbands my sister got for the girls at the

Ivivva store (lululemon kids) in Calgary.

They are beautiful.

Not so certain they pass the CPSIA rules as I believe they are all swarovskis and the sparkle factor is through the roof.  But they are Canadian and so I am not sure the lady who makes them is aware of the laws down here.  Never the less...I don't think my kids will be munching on them anytime soon and since I plan on wearing them as well...

Speaking of headbands...I did one for a Sorority chicki...cute huh.

There is nothing I cannot do on a headband or tee.  All ya gotta do is ask.

And finally...I love the Science project we just did in class this morning.

Not exactly sure what you would call it...it was basically an eco bottle.

No air gets in or out.  Nothing.

The carbon on the bottom of the bottle cleans the water.

The plant feeds the fish.

The water goes up the string and waters the dirt.

The worms _ _ _ _ ,fertilizes the other plant that creates oxygen for the fish.

One big happy eco family.

Pretty cool for a 2nd grade Science project.

The kids loved it.

Photo via blackberry because I totally forgot my camera.  Nice.

Here's hoping the fish and worms last longer than the two hamsters I brought in last week.

Let's just say that had I kept the Petland receipt, I would be using my 15 day money back guarantee.

Perhaps the lady at the store was incorrect when she said that hamsters like to be together.

That they like companionship.

That little snowball should be renamed Chuckie...as in the Horror movie.

Back in stock

LOTS of new styles coming really soon.

In the mean time...if you need that back to school tee for your little dude...they are back in stock.

Get them here.

I added a Yellow Kindergarten Rocks as well...in case you were not fond of the lime/black or the red/cream versions.

Happy birthday to blah blah blah...whatever lol

So today was my birthday.

It was sooo exciting.  We switched from Cox to Direct tv.  Today. 

It took forever.

It's ok.  I have work work and more work to do.

I am ok with it.  I don't like hoopla about me.  At all.

But...I did wake up to this.

My hubby had decorated everything for me.

It was very nice.

Due to my lack of carbs...for the rest of my life...I did not want a box of

Sprinkles or Cupcakes in my house.  

But I also though it would be fun to make my "cake" with the girls.

My friend Kristine had given me a Tie Dye cupcake kit from Jo Cupcake.

It was right up my alley...and really a genius idea.

It was super fun and super easy.

The girls loved it.

They turned out great.  And yes.  I even had one.

No. They are not even almost as good as a Sprinkles Vanilla cupcake...mmm.

But that was my goal.  The kids liked them and it was more fun making them than buying them.

Plus...I only ate one to satisfy my children's birthday wishes for me...and then I didn't want 3 more:)

Ainsley wanted me to take a picture of the one she made.

Of course...I would not trust her since this is what was 2 feet behind me after I 

finished cleaning up the kitchen.

Omg...she is nuts.  Seriously nuts.  The problem with this child is that noone else knows how nuts she is.  She is beyond hilarious at home.  But to other people...she is more serious.  Something.

They are missing out.

She reminds me of the dude on the Six Flags commercials.

The bald crazy dancer guy.

 Funny.

Anyways.  It was a nice day.  The kids were in the pool at 8 am.

It was raining.  It was lovely out...they jumped in.

Then I worked all afternoon and night.

It's ok.  I like work.  I have the best of both worlds...I'm HANNAH MONTANA!!!

I can't find the Jo cupcake tie dye mix...but I did find these two mixes on Amazon.

We might have to try them next. I think the monster ones look pretty cute.

Whaaa...I want fall weather

I was just dipping my feet in the pool.

The water is 92 degrees.

The air temp...blah.

Everywhere I look there are cute fall clothes.

We don't have fall here.  

We have summer...and winter.  We skip spring and fall all together.

I want these.
Those Missoni looking leggings. 
My favorite Matilda Jane print so far.

Oh I really want that one for myself.  I am afraid it would not be even a quarter as cute on me though.
But I love it.  If you do not own a pair of big ruffles for yourself...you are missing out.
The swish when you walk and you then know why your little chick always insists on wearing her Matilda Jane...because she swishes:)

Kids like to swish.
Lili loo swished all day yesterday.

I think that is one of our favorite skirts ever.



It is going to be 112 today.  That sucks.
Tomorrow is my birthday.
That sucks too.
I hate hate hate my birthday.
Seriously.  I hate it.
I have no idea why...but I do.
Maybe because I still feel like I should be 25...and well...as of tomorrow, I will be a decade past that one.
Whatever.  Good thing I get to spend the day with the Direct TV man.  That should make it about as uneventful as can be. 


Off to the grocery store...then back to the grind.
I have almost almost caught completely back up.
I have it under control...even with the 3 huge special orders from yesterday.
I got this;) 

Just had to share

While we were in Calgary, I found my old bag of legos that I played with as a kid.

I played with them for many hours by myself since my sister was older and she was not into legos.

It was funny to find the bag and see some of my creations still put together.

I have never even concidered buying my kids legos.  Not sure why.

I guess because we are in the Nintendo age and I did not think it was worth it.

Lego sets are not cheap.

Well much to my delight...the girls, especially Peyton, played for hours with my old pieces.

Then even more exciting...the first lego store in Canada happened to open up literally the day we went to the mall there.  I had no idea.  Devine intervention.

Ok.  Maybe god did not really care that my kids did something creative...but it was pretty darn good timing.

Now.  Mr Lego...if you are reading this (ya ok) PLEASE would it kill you to invent a purple lego?

Or a couple more girlie sets.  Not super girlie...just I don't know...something a little more fem than a pirate ship?

We now own all the girl lego sets.  

My kids played for HOURS and HOURS.

I loved it.

They cracked me up.

First we had Peyton's lego Starbucks.

(don't judge me)

Then we had Ainsley's hot tub

Oh those little heads just crack me up.

Here we have mixed my old lego men (the huge head dudes) with new legos with Toy Story 3 Kindersurprises.  Kids make me laugh.

Lego.  Worth every dollar...trust me

That should be their moto.

I know...your kids probably already own every pc of lego already...but if you have only girls...did it ever cross your mind to buy legos?  Not me.  Glad I found that old bag of toys though.

I'm baaaaack

Wow.  It feels good to be home, not because I don't love Calgary. I do.  How could I not? It is the home I grew up in...but the ride inbetween there and Phoenix...

in the freshly popular words of Usher..."oh my gosh!"

I have no idea what happens to us when we travel.  Germs happen I guess.

 I can count on one hand the amount of times my kids have puked in their lives...

all of them have been while travelling to Calgary.

We even projectiled once on the plane to Calgary.

This is when my slow mom reflexes actually come in handy.

I think I have mentioned before that I have very slow reflexes.  Not when it matters...like driving...or dropping something...those times I am very quick actually.

But if someone falls in front of me...or say, a child pukes all over the airplane seat in front of them...it takes my brain a second to fully grasp the severity of the situation and really...I can honestly hear my brain say, "seriously???!!"

So, once again...we got sick.

It WAS Peyton's turn...and it was not fun.  No puking.  Not like her car trip home last summer...and no, she is not car sick.  I don't know what she is.  But for some reason, we spiked a fever of 102+ and it made for some good times.

It was gone by the next morning and has not returned since.  

If you can explain this one, please...let me know.

But we are back.  Everyone is back to normal although Ainsley had really stinky armpits this morning.

Is that normal?  Can 7 year olds get stinky armpits?  Well actually, I answered my own question...yes, yes they can...I smelt it for myself. 

We are so going organic.

School starts tomorrow.

I am already sad.

I heart them.

I heart lyralyra too.  

Her photos just make me smile.

I could fill up my entire house with canvas' of these girls.

Is that strange?  If you walked into someones house and it looked like an art gallery exhibit of their kids, would you think that was a little nutty?

I am asking this honestly.  

Maybe just a couple more...then I will stop.

Or not.

More pictures that I love.

These pictures are from a Calgary photographer.

Shae J Photography.

I do not know her, but I love her pictures.

And I have been friends with Chris, the dad of these two little beauties, since 2nd grade.

The craziest thing is that I was reading her blog and if you notice something on this post

you will notice a couple things.

A. the kids are all decked out in Matilda Jane....but really...who isn't right?

It is not like it is a shock that kids are looking fabulous all across the globe in Matilda Jane.

BUT

B.  if you look closely at little Marlow on the tire !

Guess who made her tee!

I wish it was in color so I could see it lol.

It made me feel good.  Just randomly seeing your tee on a cutie makes your day.

Trust me. It makes mine every time.

Especially when I think about the process mom's go through planning the photo outfits.

So my darling children have interrupted me 8 times while I was writing this(...hmm...maybe school starting tomorrow is not such a bad thing) and I have not lost my train of thought.

I should probably end it here.

This, that and some more stuff

Every summer when we head to Calgary I get to have fun the first week or so...then it is back to the daily grind.  However...the daily grind is alot more work when you don't have your regular stuff with you.

I make due though...with lots of nice breaks sitting on the deck watching the disney animals bounce around the yard.  Today we discovered that there is an angry squirrel making a nice home on the roof.

Angry squirrels = scary sounds

However there was a giant jack rabbit that just ran past the girls and I while we were on the front step.

We put out a handful of oraganic carrotts. Why organic? Because that is all that was in the fridge.

I am determined to get a photo of the furry dude...but I cannot guarantee anything.

Instead I got a picture of my sick chick.

Every year we get some sort of communicable disease while visiting Calgary.

We are generally a pretty healthy bunch.

Maybe one bad cold a season...sometimes none.

But when we come here...we catch the nastiest of the nasty germs.

It usually ends with everyone getting some sort of poltergiest that forces goo out every hole in our bodies.

Seriously sick.

This year, I thought we were in the clear.

With only 5 days before departure...bam. Tummy cramps.

Thank god it has ended with just the tummies...but still...we are now 10 for 10 summers of sick.

Peyton has not had it yet.

It should hit her about 10 minutes before we pull out of the driveway on sat.

Please please please let me be wrong.

So here is my sickie.

Yes, I am a mean mom for snapping pictures of sickie chickie.

But the lighting was good...and well...she is cute...even when she is sick.

I can't help it if she follows me everywhere even when she is sick:)

Poor chickie.

Another poor chickie is poor little Kendall who did a face plant into the train table the other day and well...

I have to admit...it was really really gross.

Her nosey was complety mushed.

Like...you could not feel the bone.

I am not sure if there is a bone or cartilage there yet in 2 year olds...but if there was...

it was not there for long. She didn't much care however.

What else have we been up to.

Well...while I was nursing my version of the tummy flu...the kids played in the freezing cold water.

They didn't mind.

As usual...I snap pictures of anything that will stay still long enough for me to make camera adjustments.

Someone...anyone...please tell me how you professionals take photos so quickly. Seriously.

By the time I make the adjustments...I have missed something cute.

Oh and here is a little snippit of Peyton's favorite new clothes from lululemon.

This is actually a tennis skirt I think.

Ok.  Now that I have bored you with my personal photos...

I promise to get back to regular programming come monday. 

More carnivals...bubbles...and lululemon for kids! Oh my

The weather has not exactly been stellar the past couple of days.

As in 55 degrees and rainy yesterday.

My husband was complaining that it is 115 degrees and super humid back home.

I won't complain:) I will take the 55 and rainy.

Today is a work day for me.  All I can say is that a break from "bling" is not a good thing when it comes to my hands. Even 2 days from not making patterns and my hands slow down and stiffen up. So today I am getting back into the swing o things.

I am also working on Holiday Items...so if there is anything in particular you would like to see...put it in the comments and I will see what I can do.

We went to Callaway park the other day. Basically a permanent amusement park on the outskirts of Calgary. The kids had a good time...thats all that matters right. Unfortunately I got terrible photos of it...so I am too embarrassed to post them.  I think there had to be some grease on Peyton's lens...probably from all the carnivals we go to:)

We then had a nice bbq at home.

The kids played in the bubbles. I love bubbles. I do not think there is a bubble maker that I have not purchased at least once in my life. Why I love them so? I have no idea...but they make for fun pics too.

We even had them on our feet.

Not sure what we were doing here...maybe trying to catch them on our tongue?

Did she really think this was going to work?

Anyways...we had bubbles everywhere...including our hair...so the girls needed a major shower.

My kids waste soooo much time when I tell them they need a shower back home...but here...they are like "OK!!!"  Why?  Because my mom and dad have two of the best showers ever.

The newest one being completed just a month or so ago. It used to be the hallway bathroom that my sister and I used growing up...now it is some heated floor, 10 headed steam shower craziness.

They like it.

This is the heated towel bar that apparently moonlights as a blanket warmer.

And this sink...which is one of a matching set

Has a booboo courtesy of one of my family members.

Lets just say it was not either of my children...or myself.

Hmmm...interesting huh.

We might not be invited back next summer lol.

Ok...lunch is calling. Gotta go make something and then get back to work.

Oh geesh...the lululemon in the title.

Well...I love Calgary for many things...and now I can add the lululemon store for kids...it is actually called Ivivva, however it is just a branch of the lulu empire.  There are only 3 stores so far, Calgary, Victoria and Vancouver...but I guarantee there will be more...many many more...and I will shop at all of them:)

My kids were in heaven.  They love comfy, stretchy, cozy wear.  It's a genius store...really it is.  Ya gotta see it to believe it.  You can even design and make your own tees in there! Love that.