Can school start tomorrow please?!

We are back home to Canada finally! After a great summer in Europe I'm beyond happy to be home and back to reality.  School starts on the first of September and Kid #1 is starting grade one and Kid #2 is starting pre-school. I'd by lying if I said I wasn't totally pumped to see them heading out the door. This summer has been fun but they have been driving me bat-shit crazy.  Potty training our little guy has been a bit of a poop-filled nightmare (read: total fail) and if I have to hear them fight over one more game of Angry Birds or Fruit Ninja I'm going to lose my mind. (Though games are obviously a great babysitter. Fact.)

{little gifts from above..}

Traveling with children is never easy and when it involves long flights (9 hours to Germany and 3 more to Athens) it's guaranteed to test your patience.  To be fair to the kids we're the ones that are hauling them over to the other side of the world for weeks on end. They're just kids being kids. And if they act out, cry, fight and generally make our lives miserable difficult it's because that's just how boys can be.

{Typical facial expression of Kid #2...a total sweetie}

 I try to remember that but when I see two little girls (sisters the same age as my boys) sitting one row behind us on our 9 hour flight home, who were quietly colouring, playing on their iPad and with their Barbies for the entire flight, it kinda makes me wish that my kids weren't total hooligans. The mother of these girls was able to watch movies, slept and basically looked like she was having no problem passing the hours. Meanwhile our kids are fighting, crying, asking to go the bathroom 16 times, throwing crayons and play-dough balls down the isle -while demanding we entertain them like freaking clowns. 

It was exhausting and redonkulous all at the same time.  

Sometimes I seriously wish I had little girls...yeah I just said that.

Alright rant over. Now I'll suppose you'll tell me how girls aren't all sunshine and rainbows but I'll never believe it. Girls are amazing. Boys make me lose my mind. 

End of story.

images via google

Universal Truths...Mediterranean stylez

Hey dolls! Once again I'll start by apologizing for the sparseness of my posts but I just haven't had the time (or motivation) to blog much during our vacation. Honestly my head is in the clouds and my toes are in the sand.... 

But I am looking forward to getting back home soon...I'm missing my friends, family and my own BED something fierce. 

The kids are driving me a bit wackadoodle and you best believe they're heading to Nana and Grandpa's for a 2 night sleep over as SOON as we're back home.

But all that aside we have been having a great time here in Greece and I'll be sure to bore amaze you all with pics of our trip. Stay tuned!

For now I'll share some universal truths I've learned about this place....

1) Finding a lizard living under your mop is a sure way to scare the bejeezus out of you while you're house cleaning...

{Sweet Mother of Pearl- GET OUT now!}

2)  Explaining that the cool air from air-conditioning and fans does NOT cause illness such as cold, flu, backache, toothache, headache and strep-throat is a pretty common occurrence. For some reason most people around here must have skipped biology class in high school because everyone (young and old) believe that sitting too close to the A/C unit will bring on some dire illness or condition?!?  They're called viruses...

{This is not the enemy people...}

3)  No matter how many times I come to Greece I will NEVER get used to not being able to flush toilet paper down the toilet. Apparently the plumbing infrastructure just can't handle t.p. so you have to toss it in a little bin beside the toilet. My poor kids just DON'T get it and cannot remember to put their t.p. in the garbage ever...

{Say what? ! Can you say ick?}

4) Regardless of the lizards and toilets here, we're having a great time. Any day at the beach beats the pants off of a day at work or school or a snowy January day.  I'll enjoy every minute of it while I can!

{smiling in the sunshine...}

{"working" hard in the sand...}

{Even a rocky beach is a great beach...}

Another Big Fat Greek Wedding...

Hey lovelies! Sorry for the lack of posting, we've been in Greece for about a week now on our annual summer vacation. The kids are finally over their jet-lag (thank God) because waking up at 4:30 am everyday for a whole week is less than awesome. We went to a huge wedding (almost 400 people) in the small town of Astros and had a great time with all our fam and friends. In fact almost 100 people came from Canada alone for the wedding...nothing like a 9 hour time change to bring home-town friends together!

 One of these kids is not like the others... Mama's too tall and in need of a tan!

 Up "the mountain" at the brides family home, starting off with some traditional dancing before heading down to the church for the ceremony

 The tradition of walking the bride to the church to meet her groom

 Arriving at the church

 Joining the rest of the guest waiting for the wedding to begin

 Inside the church during the ceremony

 Waiting for the couple to exit the church, not all the guest "fit" inside the church so they waited outside!

 The happy couple...they're married!

 The get-away (Smart) car

 At the reception dinner, traditional Greek desserts and candy coated Jordan almonds called" Boubounaries"

 Mama feeling good after a few glasses of wine

 The couple arrived to the party by boat!

 The reception was outside by the water..dinner for 400!

 The bride got the dancing started at around 1:00 am

The groom busted a move, dancing the traditional Zeibekiko dance

The wedding was a blast and of course we didn't make it back to our hotel until almost 6:00 am and the band was still playing...

More updates will be coming but our internet is a bit sketchy and I'm not sure how often I'll post... tho I'll try to keep you kids updated as much as possible!

Hope your July has been fun in the sun, where ever you are!

Dress Dilemma,,,

In July we're off to sunny, hot and financially floundering Greece.  I'm beyond looking forward to our annual summer in the sun. Mama needs a tan and a holiday beyond badly. We're a part of some special events while there including the baptism of our good friends daughter.  We're going to be her God-parents and for Greeks this is a super HUGE deal because God-parents (Koumbari) are like family forever.

Greek baptisms are a major production. A big event in a child's life that is celebrated with the same enthusiam as a wedding. Hundreds of guests and huge reception-dinner after parties are completely standard. Many people spare no expense and hire professional photographers, have lavish dinners, live music and bring in entertainers or clowns to keep the kids occupied so the adults can drink and dance the night away. It's a good time.

{after a baptism outside the church- balloons for the kids to take home}

{at a friends baptism in 2006}

{at the after party}

{At our boys 2009 outdoor baptism reception}

{My son's God-Mother and my sister-in-law at the reception}

But as the God-Mother (Nona) what am I going to wear?  A lot of the women in Greece are as fabulous as they are glamourous and I need to look great while still dressing appropriately for the church. I'm torn between 3 dresses that I have and honestly none of them really excite me.  My practical side says don't go too crazy and  that I should wear something sensible that will look good in photos 20 years from now. 

I'll pair the black dresses with black patent heels and the pink and grey dress with nude heels. And of course I'll accessorize (heavily) and have on enough makeup to pass for a drag queen for it to last all day in the heat. 

Which dress would you choose or should I go for something completely different? 

Help a sister out...I'm totally open to suggestions!

It's the final countdown...

Yup, it IS the final countdown and no I'm not talking about the "Rapture" end of world type thing.

It's the final countdown for massive weight loss before our annual summer vacation to the sunny beaches of Greece. Cue 80's rock band "Europe" and their 'epic' rock anthem of the same name, "The Final Countdown."...

Ok so is the tune playing in your head now? Let that set the scene for you.

 Mama is waging all out war with these 10 lbs I've gained over our long never ending winter. 

Health and fitness will prevail as the beach takes no prisoners. 

We've got too many important events coming up that require mama to not appear as a stuffed frankfurter in a cocktail dress. All the Spanx in the world can't help that much...

The only option when executing tactical warfare is to bring out the big guns.  No carbs.

more non-subliminal imagery by Mama

Don't worry, I'm not going all Atkins on you and eliminating anything with even a trace of sugar. I'm still eating plenty of vegetables and fruits, including lots of fresh berry's.

But I will say that I've eaten more eggs, nuts, bacon, turkey burgers, lettuce, and full fat salad dressing in the last week than in the last 3 years combined. 

The fact is that I actually lose weight when I cut out my beloved carbs. AND IT'S SO HARD. Pasta, wine and bread actually bring me joy. I'm no heavy meat eater so giving up carbs seems unnatural.

But based on the blood type diet by Peter D'Adamo, Eat Right 4 Your Type, according to my blood type which is O, I should basically become a carnivore. 

Blood type O is believed to be the earliest human blood group. Directly descended from the cavemen. 

mama's ancestor, Great Uncle Eats-no-carbs

Here the "prescribed" diet is low-carb, high in meat and fish, low in dairy. And type O's should work out like a Mofo. 

So no carbs and lot's of exercise eh? This is sounding pretty basic to me. I think just about anybody would lose weight this way. Thankfully I've spent no money on this book/diet plan. 

So far things seems to be working pretty well, I'm down a few pounds and not feeling hungry at all.

BUT

My birthday is tomorrow, my son's birthday party is on Saturday, and we have a Baptism and party to attend on Sunday, then another birthday celebration on Sunday nite. 

It's going to be a cake/wine/desserts carb-fest.

But this is war, and the beach doesn't care how good that cupcake tastes. Am I right?

This post is what my blogs name is all about.

images via google

Shiny Disco Balls...

Hello lovelies, Mama's back with Vegas recap 2011. It was a quick and dirty trip but I survived (though my dogs are still barking from all the walking I did.) Note to self, just because the Kardashians can manage to traipse through the airport in high heel boots doesn't mean Mama can or should.  Sore feet is NO way to start a shopping walking tour of Vegas. 

We stayed at Aria Hotel in the new City Centre. Yes its a beautiful hotel, but also extremely modern and we couldn't help but feel that it was missing the charm and kitschy over-the-topness that Vegas is known for. I think that Wynn (where we stayed last January) has the perfect mix of Vegas flair and contemporary sophistication (in my extremely valuable opinion.)  

At the mega huge CES Consumer Electronic Show (the reason we were in Vegas), Husbands company HSTi, with their Wireless Media Stick, was voted the Best Android Accessory of the CES 2011 by Android Central. Yeah, I'm a bit stoked!

I'm not gonna lie, we ate a lot and one of our fave restaurants was Julian Serrano Tapas. We had fabulous Ceviche, Tapas and of course a super delicious Paella. Muy sabroso!

Later we went to Haze, the main club in Aria.

 Feathers, rhinestones and fabulous

 Drugs, Rock and Roll, Bad Ass, Vegas Hoes, Late Nights, booty Calls, Shiny Disco Balls...

Only one pic of Mama. Husband never remembers to take pics...

 The music was pretty amazing and even better when Maroon 5 hit the stage at around 1:30am.  While we were standing in the casino I saw Adam Levine ( pure hotness) and band walk by, I had to seriously do a double take but then there they were later that night playing a few songs in Haze. Prerequisite Vegas celebrity sighting- check! 

I wished I'd taken more pics while I was there but Husband had our camera in his briefcase and my crackberry takes terrible pics.  So this is all I can share for now. The best is yet to come though, next post is dedicated to the shop shop shoppping recap. Stay tuned kids...