So Much Miscellaneous Stuff

It seems like so much has been going on lately that I've missed out on tons of stuff and also haven't really posted on tons of stuff.
Work has been pretty crazy lately. My closest colleague went on vacation and in those 2 weeks I really really missed her and realized just how much stuff she does behind the scenes. Another one of our colleagues, also and E.A. went on vacation for a month (seriously, a month!) and so we've been filling in for her, and between all of that, some crazy stuff going on in the office and, well, just general life I realized that I hadn't even seen people who work in the same building as me in, like, ages.
I sent an e-mail to someone who works a few floors above me - and he was like "are you even working here?" oops. Okay, but this was the same person who called me a Drama Queen - so whatever. He needed some isolation!!!
Anyway, here it goes.
So, first my brush with celebrity.
Guess who was filiming outside my office yesterday? Donnie Wahlberg. Yep. Cool. I know. Even if you weren't a big new kids fan chances are you liked Sixth Sense. Plus, who doesn't like celebrities.
I realized who it was when I was walking across the street with my shopping buddy. we had just stopped at timmies for a coffee (I had 2 - one for me, one for Beth). When I saw Donnie I promptly handed over my coffees to our new VP - and tried to get an autograph. I wasn't allowed, but whatever.
Note to self - before throwing cups of coffee at your new boss (well, arms length boss) make sure that he knows you well enough to respect that sometimes you just need to be silly. Luckily he has 3 kids, knows that this was a moment of craziness, and actually sent me a follow up e-mail laughing about the whole thing.
Whew.
And, speaking of celebrities, I watched Entertainment Tonight this week. No biggie, usually, except that I realized I was totally out of the celebrity gossip loop. Who knew Robin Williams was in rehab or that Carmen Electra and Dave Navarro had split up? I'm still back in the land of Pam Anderson getting married!!! What is happening? Have there been any Suri sightings? I need to watch more.
But, in other exciting me news ...
This morning I discovered that I have lost 25 pounds. Now, since I'm doing weight watchers and I am technically supposed to weigh myself once a week (not once every 3 hours) it won't count till Monday, but still! I'm pretty excited by that. Though I'm also really just hitting that point of not being so enthusiastic about counting points. Tomorrow I will start again. I have a ways to go still.

Simon Says ...

Last night we discovered that the geniuses in our lives (aka the daycare teachers) have taught Matty a very new and effective game.
SIMON SAYS!
Now we don't play it exactly as it is supposed to go. Matthew doesn't quite understand that if you say "Simon says touch your toes" that you touch your toes, but if you just say "Touch your toes" you don't do it cause Simon didn't say it. But, whatever.
Who cares?
We have found a new way to manipulate our child without the dreaded use of the word no which always sends him into a temper tantrum. (Note that we do say no frequently, but try to use other words when possible so No has a bigger impact).
Last night he hopped up on the coffee table, threw his hands out in front of him (a la 'jazz fingers' in the movie Bring it On, which by the way, I love) and shouted "Sirens".
Mike and I looked at each other perplexed and both said "Sirens??"
Then Matty says "Sirens - touch your head" and touched his head, delighted by his new game.
And then suddenly we got it. duh. Simon Says.
We looked at each other and wondered how much magic this new game would hold.
So we played along. We did things like:
"Simon says Dance" and he danced.
"Simon says Touch your nose" and he touched his nose.
And then Mike said "Simon says take your shoes off". Matthew jumped off the table and took off his shoes.
This worked for the entire bedtime routine.
It was amazing.
And, in 15 minutes he was in bed.

Pearl Jam or Amy Grant??

It turns out that Matty has an eclectic taste in music.
Truthfully, Mike and I have very differing tastes in music, so we both have tried to educate Matt in the music we like. I'm more of a top 40, sing along to the radio, easy listening kind of girl. Well, kind of. I'm all over the map. The very first mix cd I created included Britney, Ozzy, Pink, Spice Girls and Biff Naked.
Mike's tastes run from Pink Floyd to ABBA to Beethoven.
And, considering that we were both educated in classical music, you never know what taste Matt will develop.
Let's just say it's bizarre.
Here's the thing. Matthew has a tape player, and when I was cleaning up one day I discovered an Amy Grant tape (circa 1987). Since it was that or the Wiggles, and I thought I would scream if I heard the Wiggles one more time, I decided to put it on.
Well ...
Matthew cannot sleep without Amy Grant. I walk around all evening while Matt is drifting off singing a few of the Christian Rock classics. I think this is good. I like the message, and I really did love that tape when I was in grade 6. (I went to Christian school - Amy Grant was the coolest!) It could be worse.
The funny thing about this tape is that it is Amy Grant Unplugged. Yep. I know that's funny. I can see some people who are reading this rolling on the floor by now. But, anyway, all the people in the tape clap and cheer (the audience) and so Matt cheers right along with them.
It's really cute.
But, then this weekend Mike got the new Pink Floyd DVD. He was very excited about this and insisted that we watch it.
Wonderchild that Matthew is, he has decided that these "movies" are better than TV. He sits with Mike just watching the light show and asking about the singers. It is truly truly bizarre.
And now we are wondering what exactly he will listen to as he gets older.
Hmmmm ....
Does a child's musical taste develop at the age of 2? What will he rebel and listen to?
I don't know.

Long weekend fun!

This long weekend rocked!
I think we all were ready for a break - and we actually finally had one.
well, sort of.
We were taping for the show on Saturday. But, given that it was the Saturday of a long weekend that started a one-week hiatus for the production, everyone was really quick. There were no extra takes, we got our challenge quickly, and within a couple of hours we were done. In fact, we were done about an hour before Mike's parents were done babysitting, so we took a nap and enjoyed the bliss that comes from a child free condo on a Saturday afternoon.
And then yesterday we didn't do too much. Of course we worked on one of our challenges (it is a tough one), and then in the middle of the day Mike's friend Zac came for a visit. It was just an impromtu cup of coffee, but it was nice to catch up, to laugh and just have a nice visit. Honestly, it's really nice to have people just drop by unexpectedly. And, it was just such a visit.
And, then today we decided to take Matty to Sherwood Park.
We haven't been there since the days of being dog owners (our dog, Jack, now happily resides with my in-laws in Peterborough where he is happier, better behaved and has an acre of yard to run in).
Sherwood is a leash free dog park, but it also has a playground and a water park. Matt was totally in his element with all the kids and dogs and water. It was fantastic. We spent a couple of hours just being outside, having fun and relaxing. And, there were so many highlights.
It was pretty cool to watch Matt interacting with other kids. He is so social and happy and will talk to pretty much any kid. And, the other neat thing was watching him with the animals. Right now we are really not ready to have a dog. Our cat is fine, but having a dog was overwhelming for us. But, someday we will. And, I loved seeing how comfortable he was around the dogs. He knows to put his hand out and let the dogs come to him. He's learned not to pull the dogs' tails and all of that. So it was pretty cute just watching him being a kid, playing and having a full day of Mommy and Daddy before going to daycare tomorrow.
I LOVE LONG WEEKENDS!!!