Monthly Archives: March 2011

"O"

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O. _uacct = “UA-4888259-1″;urchinTracker();

I went to see “O” by Cirque de Soleil last night.  I’ve seen Cirque performers live before, but the difference is the technical aspect that comes with a custom built theatre with a ever-changing dive tank:
All photos courtesy of Cirque…

The floor constantly changes throughout the hour-and-forty-five minute show, from being completely flat and dry to every configuration of depth and shape:
I can’t even explain what happened.  I gasped, I cried, I sat on the edge of my seat.  I have seen beautiful acrobatics in my life, but this was incredible.  It was worth every penny of the ticket price (which I didn’t pay for, but would do in a heartbeat!!).  I can’t say anymore; the photos don’t begin to do it justice. 
If you think that Cirque is over-hyped, you haven’t seen “O” – it is worth the fuss and awe.

It even put the buffet at the Bellagio to shame :)

$15K night

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We walked the Strip yesterday, enjoying the sun and shopping.  It was a beautiful day, but it was even more beautiful when we went into the Paris and were given wristbands for their new nightclub, Chateau.  The Gardens were open for the afternoon, so we went upstairs and enjoyed their stunning patio overlooking the Bellagio fountains.  The club only opened on March 5, so they were promoting heavily, but it was worth every second!

We got dolled up for dinner when we came back to our hotel and had a delicious dinner at Fiamma.  I had to splurge when I saw the Veuve Clicquot on the menu … by the glass!  Champagne – real, true, legit, expensive Champagne - by the glass?  YES PLEASE!  We all ordered a flute, and it set the tone for our high-class night :)
We returned to Chateau, which was considerably busier than earlier in the afternoon.  Our wristbands, however, ensured that we didn’t wait in line at all.  We had a few moments of awkwardly ignoring a hairy-chested drunk guy, which edged us to a quieter corner of the Gardens.  
Much to our relief, several well-dressed men were enjoying a private VIP booth and struck up conversation with the three of us.  That effectively elbowed creepy hairy dude out of the picture.  From that point on, we experienced Vegas nightlife in its highest form.
The men were in Vegas on business, almost all married, with zero expectation factor.  I think they were relieved to see three classy chicks with skirts to the knee instead of just under their bums, who didn’t pour themselves onto the couch and expect free drinks and more.  There were a lot of those girls…  
This is Hot Mess.  She is actually one of their admin assistants..but you wouldn’t know it…

We spent a bit of time sharing photos of our kids and husbands, dancing and drinking.  They treated us like gold, and were fun without hitting on us.  I was so impressed – not to stereotype, but I would expect men of that calibre to expect only one thing with treatment like that…but there was none of that, even from the single guys.  

I actually spent the last 15 minutes of our night discussing the pros and cons of American vs Canadian government involvement in the private sector!  LOL!  But don’t worry, we actually had a blast dancing the night away in the VIP section.  The guys loved my SLR camera and took a ton of pictures for us – so awesome :)
The shock was when we realized how much a night like that would have cost: they had VIP service, which is a pricey investment regardless, but also concierge service AND security detail.  There was bottle service, private serving staff, the works.  
Our private waitress and security detail…wow!

It was a Vegas night to remember, with no bad aftertaste.  And it pretty much ruined me for anything less for the rest of my life :D
And yes, I totally rocked my glasses by the end of the night :)

Vegas, baby!

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We are here :) _uacct = “UA-4888259-1″;urchinTracker();

I am happy.
I bought my Coach baby yesterday.  She is beautiful.  I may have also bought a Kate Spade wallet.  She is also pretty.  I spent a lot of money on my kids and a few other people, which is good.  The damage done to my spending money was atrocious, but only a third of it was on me!
Yay :)
We are going to see Cirque de Soleil’s “O” on Wednesday.  So, in the course of this trip, I have knocked FOUR things off of my list of 101 in 1001!

Getting ready

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I feel like I have too much caffeine coursing through my system.  If you know me, though, you’ll know that that is a hard state for me to achieve.  It takes a good deal more than 2 or 3 cups of coffee, 4 or 5 hours ago to create the racing heart and sweaty palms I’m feeling. _uacct = “UA-4888259-1″;urchinTracker();

Add in my injured shoulder creating mock tension, and you’d think I was a basket case ;)
No, I’m not hyper or sitting on the edge of a panic attack.  I’m just getting ready to leave for 4 days.
It doesn’t even matter that my family is staying behind, although I definitely feel my Mommy-guilt setting in.  No, I get like this before any big event.  It’s the edgy, anxious, snappy, grouchy cloud that follows me around while I check on last minute things hours before I need to.
It’s the little voice in my head that check/double-checks the airport parking information and recalculates the driving time from our acreage for the 5th time.  I hate being late, you know.  
As Leith so sweetly put it this morning:  ”You don’t handle change well, do you?”
Hush, husband.  
But it’s true: I love knowing my routine and my schedule, and as much as I love travelling and escaping for a while, the change knocks me off course.  I can control my actions, but that’s about it.  Everything else is unknown, up in the air and waiting to happen.
Oh, and don’t worry: I don’t spend time stressing about what to do if the airline loses my luggage, or if our reservation is cancelled.  I am far too preoccupied with wondering whether Leith will remember to send an extra change of clothes to the day home, or if my travelling friends will be ready to go at 5am, or before….?  I worry about whether we will be able to check into our room at 11am, or if we’ll have to check our luggage.
Oh my goodness, I am even worried about suggesting we go to the Apple store because I want to get my iPad 2 but I don’t want to inconvenience my friends.
LOL!  It really is ridiculous, isn’t it?  I mean, I have the clarity and self-awareness to realize that.  I also have the sense to know that I will have a great time, the 4 days will fly by, and all my worry will have been for naught.
Oh, anxiety-ridden brain.  You really do make it hard on us, don’t you?  Truthfully, this time tomorrow I will be basking in the sun somewhere in the beautiful city of Las Vegas.  I’ll be over-analyzing some new trivial thought, but it won’t matter because it will be 23 degrees ABOVE zero.
It will be wonderful.
Now, to check my packing list and shopping lists for the last time….

The itch

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It’s back. _uacct = “UA-4888259-1″;urchinTracker();

It’s been a year, after all…I suppose I should have expected it.
It’s a deep ache in my soul that can only be filled by one tiny, small, precious thing…
…
…
…
…
Running.
Wait, what did you think I was talking about??  OMG, people, we’ve been over this.  If I have another baby, I could very well die and I don’t want to do that.
Gawd.
I want to be running again, like yesterday.
I love dancing.  It is fantastic and wonderful, and it is something I can’t live without.  But running?  Running is an alternate universe for my soul.  Ohhhhh, but to feel my lungs burn and my legs burn and my body propelling through space, surrounded by thousands of atoms brushing past my skin with every step.
Dancing requires thought.  I love the creative process, I love the energy and I love the intensity.  But running?  Ohhhh, running.  It is my thoughtlessness, my clarity, my emptiness, my communion.
It is me vs the world, and we both win when I run.
The best part is that my beloved physiotherapist has given me the thumbs-up to start again!  I need new shoes, because the last thing I want is to destroy my body when we are working so hard at fixing all its broken pieces.  I need it to MELT OUTSIDE, for goodness’ sake!  I will run on the treadmill if it hasn’t melted by the time I get home on Vegas, but that machine is over 15 years old.  It doesn’t give my joints the love they deserve.
Ohhhh, I want to run!  I want to feel the heat in my body and the life in my chest as I burn through the miles again.

I’m back!

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Excuse me for a moment while I dust off my keyboard… _uacct = “UA-4888259-1″;urchinTracker();

Ahem.
It’s been nearly 3 weeks since I’ve blogged, and I feel awful about it!  I’ve been so absent from the blog world, barely reading any at all!  My Top Sites is full of foreign-to-me pages that I barely recognize…  It’s not that life has been overly busy or overly dull, either.  I just haven’t felt the urge to blog, which is weird for me!
My goodness, it’s been so long that I can’t even think of what we need to catch up on.  
I had a fabulous Pampered Chef party on the 13th, and it’s been so long since I’ve blogged that I’ve actually received the orders, sorted them and delivered them to my guests already!
We found out that Sherrie and Levi are expecting twin boys, which is uncanny and awesome at the same time.  :)  Oh, the wild ride that is about to start!  Welcome to the club…I’ll bring the wine!
The bugz have morphed into minions from Despicable Me.  If you’ve watched the movie, you’ll know what I mean…if you haven’t, you should.  It will give you a crystal-clear insight into my life ;)  They have been surprisingly good for the past few weeks, although they still make me want to bang my head against a brick wall many times a day.  The Terrible Twos have passed, and while the Trying Threes are trying, they are much better!
My sister coloured my hair last night, and it is epic.  I’ll have to get a photo that shows what she did, but it is awesome: nearly black with coppery-blonde painted highlights and melting.  Oooh, so funky and fantastic!!!!
I’m leaving for Vegas on Monday!!!  Woo!  No husband, no kids…just friends.  I’ve never been on a girls-only trip that was just for fun, so I’m super excited.  I exchanged my money today, I’m nearly finished packing, and I only have 4 classes and a workshop to teach before I can go :)
What else, what else?  I taught my first Fit Hop class on Tuesday night, and it was epic-fun.  I destroyed my shoulder in the process, but my lovely PT fixed me nicely today.  She needled me like it was going out of style and made me promise to wear my heels only 50% of the time in Vegas ;)  Oooh, and last week, she gave me the most wickedest bruise on each side of my hips.  I actually took a picture and emailed it to her!  She offered to autograph it for me… :
This is from one tiny little acupuncture needle.  The bruise is about 2″ across.

I wanted to get an iPad 2 today.  They were released about 20 minutes ago, but at 3:50pm, the lineup at Future Store was already 20 deep and I had the bugz with me.  I’m going to look when we’re in Vegas – the price isn’t any different, but it’s been out for 2 weeks there so they might have some in stock again.  One can hope ;)
Other than that, it’s been life as usual.  I’ll be back on the bloggy train with my usual rambling, especially with all the Vegas stories to come!

Still here!

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I swear I’m still alive :) _uacct = “UA-4888259-1″;urchinTracker();

I’ve just been super-busy, and I keep meaning to post when I get home at night … and then I watch Despicable Me and fall asleep.
Tonight, I promise an update!

A little bit of thanks

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As I wait for my sleeping bugz to wake up on this sunny birthday afternoon, I have to admit that I still have a little bit of guilt about staying home with them!!  I know that my bugz have to come first before work, and that kids get sick, but it was (and still is!) really freakin’ hard for me to put that into action today.  

I’ve never been a person to let my kids hold me back, regardless of whether it was a smart choice.  I’ve never used my kids as an excuse for being late, or for not committing to something.  Yes, there have been times that I’ve had to decline invitations because of my kids, but on the whole I try to be a responsible parenting adult and make my life fit around their needs and vice versa. _uacct = “UA-4888259-1″;urchinTracker();
It drives me crazy when people use their kids as a result for poor performance, lazy behaviours and disorganization.  I’ll own up to still having mommy-brain, but I also own up to the fact that it’s my own fault when it does rear it’s ugly, forgetful head.  I’m kind of a hard-azz like that…
So when Jessica and Liesa stepped up to reassure me that I could stay home and the sky would not cave in, it meant the world to me.  I can’t explain to you how much anxiety it gave me to even broach the subject.  I tossed and turned all night, feeling like a total flake.  After all, I’d committed to working full time, and our jobs are not the kind that can just be made up for the next day.  There are people who have scheduled their days around me being at the studio, and they’ve paid good money for that experience.  It’s my responsibility to them to show up and teach, and to have all my ducks in a row ahead of time.
I hated calling in sick.  But my two friends held me up and covered my class today, and gently told me that it was okay to be a mom first.  I still feel guilty, but I also feel so incredibly grateful to work alongside two women who understand what it’s like to have a family who needs you to be more than a paycheque some days.  I know that one little blog post won’t sum up how much it meant to have their support today, but I hope from the bottom of my heart that they know that they helped me grow a lot today as a mom.
Thanks ladies – you are two in a million, and I love ya!

3 years old!

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Fancy that! _uacct = “UA-4888259-1″;urchinTracker();

The bugz and I have survived 3 years together!!  And true to the morning they were born, they kept me up all last night.  The whole family is sick, and Kit-kat was hacking up a storm all night as she nestled beside me in bed.  But the funniest thing was when C-boo sat up at 6:18am and said, “It’s my birthday!” – she was born at 6:18am :)  A couple minutes later, Kit-kat padded out to the kitchen behind her, true to form.
3 years … I can hardly believe it.  I know that it’s been that long, but when I look back, it’s hard to see where that much time went!
Both bugz are very articulate when they want to be.  We are trying to convince them that 3-year olds aren’t allowed to whine ;)  They are very observant of the world around them, and they pick up on the littlest things.  They also remember little things that you wouldn’t expect, which means that we need to watch what we say and do…
They’re growing up before my eyes.  For the first time ever, they are actually wearing clothes that are age-appropriate.  Up until now, they’ve fit a size or two behind their age.  They still wear some size 2 clothes, but they fit size 3 fairly well now!  Pants are big on them, but we are good if they have an adjustable waist.
We have been accident free for over 2 weeks now!  Their day home provider has done a wonderful job of potty training, and they are now wearing big-girl panties.  They even wake up dry most mornings!!
Their little imaginations are running wild.  I love listening to them at night when they are supposed to be sleeping.  They love to play dress-up, and they love to paint and do crafts.  They are both very particular and careful with their activities, even though they leave a swath of destruction in their wake ;)
C-boo is my goofball, through and through.  She is also very short-tempered, and gets agitated when things aren’t just right.  She tends to hang back a little, observing before she jumps in.  Once she is comfortable, she has a great time playing and running around.  She is my sleepy-head, and will be the one I have to drag kicking and screaming out of bed for school in a few years ;)
Kit-kat is my sweetheart, always curling up to play with my hair.  She gets upset easily, but she is also braver than C-boo.  She is a social butterfly, but will also play quietly by herself.  She is much more girly and she wants to play with her dolls and princess jewellery all the time.  She is also my performer, singing and dancing along to all her favourite movies.
From little NICU nurslings to bright-eyed, imaginative preschoolers, these little bugz have taught me more in the past 3 years than I learned in my life before them.  Despite our crazy days, they are still the best thing that has ever happened to me (except for their daddy… ;) )
Brand new:
1st birthday:
2nd birthday:
3rd birthday: 
Happy birthday, Bugz.  Momma loves you lots n lots n lots xoxo

Where it gets difficult:

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My bugz are sitting beside me, drinking chamomile tea with milk and honey.  I have been googling cough remedies and cures for the past half hour.  _uacct = “UA-4888259-1″;urchinTracker();

I’m feeling a little bit stressed out right now.  You see, Kit-kat has caught her daddy’s cold and it’s a doozy. They’ve been sick already this winter, but I’ve been able to pass off their sniffles without mention.  This cough, however, is un-hideable.  She sounds like an 80-year old smoker, and both girls have great green boogers.
*shudder*
So my day home kindly asked that I keep them home tomorrow.  No problem, right?  Leith has sick days and is sick, so he can just take a sick day and stay home with them.  It will be a nice treat, since it’s their birthday too.
Except that he can’t stay home tomorrow.  He can stay home on Wednesday, but he needs to be at a work site tomorrow.  I teach at 11:15am.  I can’t keep my bugz at the studio all day, especially if they are sick.  Not only will they infect people, but they will drive me up the wall.
What do I do?  I’ve never been faced with this situation before.  I know that Sherrie is working tomorrow, and all 4 grandparents are working.  The day home knows that Kit-kat is sick, so I can’t even be sneaky and pretend she got better overnight – they want her home for 48 hours…
What do you do as a parent in this situation?  My mom was home while I was in elementary school, and then I was old enough to stay home by myself when she finally went to work.  Plus, my dad worked shift work.  I don’t recall it ever being an issue.
What do you do?