Girls Day!!!

Today hubs and Aussie went to the Auto Show and that left Miss Roo and I to our own girlie devices! Yay! So we started out at Cora's for a yummy breakfast! Thanks to Laurel of Opti-Mom fame, for the suggestion!

It was PERFECT!

Then we hit up !ndigo so Roo could indulge in some retail therapy! She got a gift card from our friends for her birthday and was excited that it meant a trip to the book store.

She chose these books:

And in honour of the fact it was a birthday gift she also chose this one!

Then We were off to the mall. It (as always it was mostly a bust). I did however decide to check out Payless to see if they had anything pretty on sale. I found no shoes I really liked but did find a nice handbag. It was on sale for $19.99. Score! No picture of it because it was on clearance but Roo got this:

Then at the recommendation of a another friend we went to Penningtons, where they had a huge sale on. I did very very well I must say!

I got this casual shirt . It's very very comfy! $5.00

I got this really cute Ity tank top with ruffle $5.00

And I got this really cute 3/4 lenth cardi to go with the above tank $10

I got a great jewlery set complete with a necklace and earrings to go with the about outfit for $10 on a BOGO sale:

I got this really cool necklace it was FREE thanks to the other set I bought:

I got a couple other shirts though I was unable to find photos for them. They were both $5

It was a really terrific day with Roo and now the guys are home so we're about to relax as a family to watch a movie and enjoy a late dinner to be delivered  from Swiss Chalet! No cooking and very little cleanup on this Family Day weekend!

As promised

.

(albeit, a day late)
Remember this post about having a big secret?

Here is my big secret...

I DID NOT FINISH SCHOOL. So who cares right!? Lots of people didn't finish college or university right! I am like a lot of people!!!! Ok well let me start again:

I DID NOT FINISH HIGH SCHOOL. Yeah that got ya by surprise didn't it. You're horrified and shocked, right? Well I have told only a small number of people what this secret was. I had one guys jaw literally drop and his eyes got huge, in manner I've not seen in a while. Kinda like this:

Yeah, nice reaction buddy! I know he's gonna read this and swear he was cool with it, and maybe he is now but in the moment it was pure monkey shock and awe!

I mentioned it over coffee to a couple of close friends. One didn't have much to say, but I know that it was a surprise, and I also know she'll still love me anyway. The other one actually had guessed that that was my secret and since I trust her I felt confident that it wouldn't be a problem. After all my truest of friends won't care that I am not University educated in the art of friendship.

Getting past that, now what? Well I was faced with a few options.
1.) Do nothing and keep hiding my shame, go through life as I always have (suffering with a case of the "dumbs")
2.) Get my GED and be done with it. After all I get one of these that says I'm equal to a graduate
3.) Tackle the embarassment head on and GO BACK TO HIGH SCHOOL. What the f*ck? Did I just say that? Yup. It's an option right?

So what do you think I did? I chose option #3, yup the hard option. The one that will have me finish high school properly. I'll even get a cap & gown ceremony at a real high school (my son's high school actually.. can you say AWE-SOME! I can but her likely won't. Wonder how he'll feel when I tell him I'm deferring receipt of my diploma to 2015 so we can formally graduate on the SAME day!!) Yup I am the parent of the year, folks, did you ever doubt it? OK well you should have because after googling for an image of what that certificate would look like I learned that there isn't one. Ha! Jokes on me. I guess I thought it was real, because... well... I'm dumb. I have already proven that in my admission to bein a high school drop out. Are you following me still?

All joking aside. I am going back to school. I am doing it for me. I am proud of my decision. I hope my son will be proud of me too, and the secret shame he feels of having a drop out for a mom will be gone soon.

So now you know!! It's all out there! Now I need to enjoy my last few days of being a lady of leisure. Because next week, this chicka is rolling back the clocks and redoing 1994! School starts on Monday!
Wish me luck good grades!

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NOTE: The feelings expessed in this post reflect soley the views I feel towards MYSELF for not finishing school and how that impacted my career goals. This does not mean I feel that others in the same situation are losers or that they have less worth than those who finished.

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Miss Roo's 3rd birthday- SETUP/PREP

So as you saw from this post I was in full on party prep mode. It's my secret, errr not so secret obsession. I loose all control and plan (what I think are) fantastic events. This year I said I would not go so crazy as I did last year. People will agree I was OVER THE TOP last year. Making EVERYTHING myself even the party hats were printed on cardstock, cut out, assembled and had ribbons added to stick out the top. Everything short of cutlery was made or altered by me to make it fit the theme which was ladybugs.

Anyway, So I promised myself I wouldn't spend 3 months preping like I did last year, because after all that is CRAZY, right?!?

But when push came to shove I had 2 weeks before the big day and even though there was no time to make EVERYTHING, I had this crazy need to do it to the best of my ability once again a case of the crazies washed over me and I went into party planning mode. I did A LOT of work in a short amount if time. From my guests comments it seems it went over well! I was please with my results and more importantly as Roo was falling alseep we spoke of the day, she told me I "did a good job, mommy!" This was all the mattered to me at the end of the day, that it made her feel special and that SHE loved it. Mission complete. Now to start thinking about next years theme.... but first here are some pics of the set up. Enjoy!

Teaser of what's to come!

Tomorrow Miss Roo turns three, and her party is a Reptile theme! While I can't show you ALL of the amazing stuff that will be going on I can show you a few things I've been working on. Here are a few photos! Don't forget to come back after the party is over to see the whole event in photos!

Some of the items for the self serve candy bar

Gummy kabobs that I made!

Items for the DIY grab bag!

Candies for the cupcake decorating station!

Homemade choco/candy bark in coordinating colour of course!

Marshmallow Pops (thanks to LauMo for being the inspiration!)

The party girls outfit!! Sassy and spunky!!

Closeup- cuz I love 'em so much!

Skeletons in the closet...

Lots of people have skeletons in their closets. I am no different. Mine's been hiding for almost 1.5 decades. People who were paying attention back in the day might know about it, but almost guaranteed they've forgotten by now. My family knows, though they're kind enough to at least pretend to forget to save my feelings. If I've met you in the last decade, chances aer you don't know this MONUMENTAL embarrassment about yours truly (errr... not so truly really). Not that I have ever lied about it. I've been misleading for sure. When this conversation comes up I nod smile and agree, all while carefully crafting my literary selection to evade being "outed".

This one is a doozie!

On the bright side of things some recent events have made it resurface. Though it's been scratching just below the surface for a while now. I have faced my fears and have begun making the necessary steps to correct this colossal secret. Of course once I actually begin repairing the damage, people ARE going to find out. I know that. I am ready for that. After dealing with THIS side of my life, I know that whatever doesn't kill us makes us far stronger in the end. So go ahead laugh,point your fingers at me while doing so if you must. It WON'T stop me for seeking out my own personal justice. It's something I am doing for me, to help me to be happier in my own skin and to help me find the person that I want to become.

I know what you're thinking; "enough already just spit it out".

I promise I am not sharing a secret sister I never knew I had like Oprah did in all her drama-queenesque glory. But for me it's bigger. However you will have to wait just a little bit before I share this with you all. I need time. To come to grips with having this info out there. Once the motion has been set into place for ripping off the bandaid and heading for a more permanent resolution I'll blog about it.

Give me ONE week, ok?

Deeeep Breath... here I go!!! See you in a week!

My beatiful girl is turning 3.

This is my girl, I'll add more photos to the bottom.

I sit back and I think about the past 3 years regularly. Forget the terrible year struggling with severe PPD, my heart problems and forget that cancer ever came into my life. All that aside it's been a wonderful few years. The baby we longed for came into our lives on Feb 11th 2008. She came in a very rushed and scary way. Opting to get a head start to avoid being born on her scheduled day of Valentines Day. No way was my girl gonna share a date with a holiday, no sir, she needed a date where she could be the biggest thing to happen! She came into the world in a manner suited for our little drama queen!

We all fell in love the moment we knew of her tiny little existence. Over the course of these past 3 years, that existence has become anything but tiny. My girl is inquisitive, dramatic, animated,  a fashionista in the making, demanding, adventurous, fiercely independent, and clearly lacking anything that resembles fear. She is a HUGE personality in our house and I love every second of it. Her softer side is shown through cupping my face in her hand gingerly and saying things like "mommy, I love you tooooo much!", and rubbing my surgery scars gently to feel the bumpiness, and asking if they still hurt. Like her brother Aussie, she is so wise and so comforting.

In many ways I feel like her first years of life were spent in the back seat of our lives, with me at the wheel driving erratically from one of my issues to another, just dragging her along. In other ways I think while there is some truth in that. I have not been unaware of how she's growing and changing. In the middle of the night when I lay awake I am constantly remembering all the amazing things she is doing and learning.

I haven't been as great at recording her life as I was with Aussie, but I have tried really really hard, that's gotta count for something right? God I hope so. I pray she never feels neglected in any way.

My sweet Miss Roo, I love you and I have been in love with you from the moment you were a mere thought shared between Daddy and I. For the rest of my life I will do what is best for you. You won't always like it but trust that right now my job is NOT to be your bff, but rather to be your mom. For me it means doing things the right way and not the easy way. Sometimes that job is harder for both of us than I'd like, but I promise that one day when the "job" portion of my relationship with you is done, we WILL be friends.

You're little and won't really understand this video, but it will serve as a reminder of what I want for you and the things I need to do and say to make sure you know it. 

Happy 3rd birthday, I love you and I am so very proud to have been chosen by fate/God, whatever, to be YOUR Mom.

XOXOX

More photos of Roo:

Wedding Shower

Ok, so yesterday was THE BIG DAY!! Ok well not the actual big day, but the big day for me because I planned, prepared and hosted this shower. I was so excited to throw my sis a tea party themed wedding shower.  Rather than babble on about it I'll show you in pictures:

Chai Tea Cupcakes from Dyana at I'm A Little Cupcake

Lemon curd tartlets

Devonshire Cream

Fresh scones with homemade preserves



Caramelized Onion Crostinis and Raincoast Crisp Canapes



Fresh fruit platter

Homemade spinach dip with Pumpernickel bread

My sisters place setting

The bride with our mom and Great Aunt

My sister (centred) with the DIY wedding dress models

My "Roo" keeping track of who bought what gift for her Aunty