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Miscellaneous

Academy Awards Fashion Review

I just read my friend’s Red Carpet Review on her blog, and thought it was a great idea.  So I decided to write my own. 

 Over the last few years, I have tried to follow fashion a bit more than I used to- I have no idea why- maybe I am living vicariously through people who actually have some thing to do after spending several thousand dollars on a dress, hair, and make-up.  Maybe I am just envious they really have someplace glamorous to go, other than to the grocery store or to the peditrician’s office. 

At any rate, here is my review of the outfits I liked, (in order) and didn’t like for the Academy Awards:

BEST DRESSED

Gwyneth Paltrow: I love this dress on her- love her make-up, love her hair.  I think she does a fabulous job of showing that a mommy can be beautiful, glamorous, and sexy, without having to be rail, bones-sticking-out-thin.  Outstanding job- she gets my “best dressed” out of everyone vote.

HONORABLE MENTIONS- BEST DRESSED

1. Helen Mirren: She looks absolutely stunning! She looks classy, elegant, while being a bit flirty.  I think she did a great job with her dresses the entire award season.  Her dress is the gold standard!

2. Cate Blanchett: Va-Va-Voom!  I haven’t been a fan of her “futuristic” dresses, but she is nothing short of spectacular in this dress.  This is perfection for her!

3.  Reese Witherspoon: I think Reese always looks classy and elegant, and last year, she was my best dressed.  I didn’t really expect her to look bad, and she looked beautiful in this flowing dress, that highlighted her terrific figure. 

4.  Nicole Kidman: Nicole sizzles in the gown! She is beautiful in her striking red dress.  Normally, I do not like the shoulder bow/train, but it works for her on this dress, and her shoes are fab. as well.  If she had been any hotter, she would have burnt a hole through the red carpet!

5.  Kate Winslet: This is an outstanding dress on her, and I love that she is so outspoken about super thin models and actresses.  This is what a real woman, and mommies look like. She looks simply wonderful!

6. Rachel Weisz: Old Hollywood glamour seeps from this dress.  While I am not a huge fan of satin, Rachel is gorgeous in this classic, feminine gown, and carries it off without a hitch.

 WORST DRESSED

1. Penelope Cruz: Her hair and make-up were gorgeous, but she looks like a pink ostrich at best, or a peach feather duster at worse.  This look does not work for her.  Please, Penelope- no more feather dresses!

HONORABLE MENTIONS- WORST DRESSED

2. Jennifer Hudson: I hate to have her on this list, especially since she looked so pretty at every other award show this season- what happened here?  Who decided on this terrible tin-foil coat?  I also hate the pockets in the dress; I think they look sloppy.  There’s nothing “dreamy” about this look.

3. Cameron Diaz: This dress screams, “80’s!”  I hate the angled flaps across her chest- it looks like a bad bride’s maid dress. 

4.  Jada Pinkett Smith: Normally, JPS looks beautiful- I loved her sapphire blue dress from last year, but this golden yellow dress is awful on her.  It looks like an outline of a bustier, and does nothing for her figure.  The skirt looks too tight, and makes her look like she is going to have to walk funny.  This is a rare misstep from a beautiful woman, who usually looks flawless.

 5. Maggie Gyllenhaal: I just don’t “get” this look.  First of all, I don’t like the black detailing.  I love the deep, rich, navy blue color of this dress, but the black material and strap seems to make it too harsh, and aghh! more feathers at the bottom of the dress!  (seriously, are these actresses going to go dust something in the theatre?) 

6. Jennifer Lopez:  I realize I am probably in the minority on this one.  I think J-Lo looks great- except for her dress.  I think it looks way to matronly on her, and drab.  She has a terrific, normal figure, and yet this dress does nothing to show it off.  It looks like a jeweled sheet- she could do so much better.

What do you think?  Do you agree with my choices?  Feel free to comment on my picks, and your best / worst dressed.  Can hardly wait until next year.

Categories
Activities Cole Family & Friends Ryan

Baby Shower

My sister who is expecting her first baby in April, had her baby shower today.

We started the day off with taking Ryan and Cole to a friend’s 3 year old birthday party at a bouncy castle place.  Ryan had fun bouncing with Dad, and Cole did surprisingly well playing with an exerciser, the facility had.  We had a nice lunch and Thomas cake, and it was a great party!

I was playing it by ear, on whether to take Cole or not to the shower- we already decided Ryan was going to stay home with Joe, because we knew he really needed his nap.  My sister lives about 50 miles away, so it is a bit of a trip.  I didn’t really want to take Cole, because he doesn’t do that well with crowds, and noise, and he also needed to nap.  But he is having major separation anxiety right now, and I wasn’t sure if he would be fussy today or not.  To be totally honest, I thought it would be nice to have a few kid/baby free hours, to just enjoy the shower.  But I was waiting it out to see how he would be.

BINGO!  Both boys fell asleep on the way home from the birthday party, and I carried Cole upstairs, and laid him on the bed, and he stayed asleep, so I took off.

The shower was really nice, with lots of family, friends, and good food.  Almost everyone asked where the boys were, so that was nice they were missed, but they completely understood why they weren’t there.  🙂

My sister and her husband, are having a girl, and they decided to name her Maelyn.  It is a name her mother-in-law suggested, and I think it has Norwegian decent. 

I knew all along for my main gift, I wanted to do something special with letters, once they decided on a name, but a few months ago my sister, just out of the blue, told me she was going to order the letters for Maelyn’s name off of a store on e-bay.

I HAD to tell her I wanted to do that for her gift, and she agreed, so my sister has known about the letters, but she didn’t know what I was planning to do with them. I was going to order the letters off  a web-site, but then saw some at a local arts & crafts store, and my sister had seen the same ones, and liked them, so I got them.  I bought them white, but added the design, and ribbons to them.  I am very happy how they turned out.  But more importantly, my sister said she really liked them.  I asked her to take a picture of them, once they were hung up, because her nursery theme is coral and lime green, and the wall these will be hung on, is lime green and I think they will look better hung up on the wall then just laying on the tissue paper I put them on to take a picture of them….

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I hope Maelyn likes them as she grows older, and they help her learn to spell her name.  We have the letters for Ryan’s name, and he loves pointing out the letters, and spelling his name.  We just got some for Cole’s name as well.  I really had fun designing these, and I can’t wait to meet my sweet niece, Maelyn.  We can’t wait for her to be born!

Categories
Parenting Ryan

The Great Escape

Now that I have stopped shaking, and calmed down a bit, I just had the most terrifying thing ever happen. 

Ryan got out of the back yard and was wondering out in the front by himself!

 We have an 8 ft. fence around our entire yard- the gate is a big door, with a lock on it, but we have another gate that swings open with a bar lock.  Last night, Joe took Ryan outside w/ him to pull in the trash cans, and he must have seen how it works.  I am wrapping up a present for my sister’s shower, and had just seen him outside on his scooter.  I finished wrapping the gift- maybe took me 5-7 minutes, and I looked out the windows, and didn’t see him.  I went to the other windows, and still didn’t see him in the back yard, so I opened the door, and called him- and nothing.  He usually answers me if he is back in the corner of the yard, and then I turned my head, and saw the recycle bin pushed up to the gate to reach the bar, and the bar off the gate, and the gate open! I grabbed my shoes, and ran out yelling his name, and I didn’t see him, and he didn’t answer me.  I was one second from losing it, and calling the police.  There was a girl walking on the sidewalk, and I asked her if she had seen a little boy, and she said yes, on the other side of the house, on the driveway (which is our front yard.) I don’t think I have ever been so grateful to hear someone say “yes.”

I ran around the corner, and Ryan was standing in the driveway, crying and scared.  I somehow managed to keep calm, and soothe him.  He said he had wanted to go out side to “bust up the ice,” and “get the mail”, but mommy and daddy weren’t out there with him.

I just hugged him over and over, and told him he is to never open that gate again!  I don’t know who is looking out for us, but I am so lucky, he got scared and didn’t wander off- we live by the train tracks, and near a very busy street, or someone could have just grabbed him in a second.  He was also out in the back yard playing, while I put Cole down for his nap, which took me like 15 minutes.  I don’t even want to think about what could have happened if he had gotten out then, or even what could have happened in the 5 minutes he was out there by himself.

I paged Joe and he is bringing home a lock tonight. It is amazing how much a child can learn by watching something once in the dark.  I think we are done playing outside for today. 

After talking to Joe, he suggested I take Ryan back outside and show him how to ring the doorbell.  He knows how to do this anyway, but I took him out and told him if ever is in the yard by himself, with out Mommy or Daddy, to ring the doorbell.  I don’t know if he would remember to this, but I guess it can’t hurt. Hopefully we will NEVER have another incident like this.

Categories
Family & Friends Ryan

Some Valentine Advice

I know Valentine’s is over, but Ryan & Cole’s grandma got the cutest card from her daughter, for Valentine’s.  I am not sure if he saw Grandma read it and then laugh, or if she read it to him, but it is the cutest thing- Ryan will “read” the entire card- he has it memorized- and then when he opens the card for the punchline, he says it, and then starts laughing hysterically, and says, “Oh Brother!”  He will carry this card around with him for half an hour at a time, reading it over and over.  Grandma let him take the card home, he is enjoying it so much.   The outside of the card says: (You can double click on the picture to see it bigger)

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(If you don’t want to click on it, it says),

Some Valentine Advice: Don’t kiss your honey, When your nose is runny, you may think it’s funny…

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 (but it’s snot)

It is pretty interesting what a 3-year old finds funny; this is big entertainment around here.

Categories
Cole Family & Friends Mothering Parenting Ryan

Mama Said There Would Be Days Like This

I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off today!

I am trying to finish a shower present for my sister this week, for her baby shower on Saturday.  Ryan has come down with the same cold, Cole had and thankfully, he doesn’t have it as bad, but his nose is running constantly, and I am constantly wiping his nose.

I thought I could make some progress on my project, this morning, when Ryan tells me that baby Cole spilled his cereal on the floor.  After cleaning that up, I go back to my project, and a few minutes later Ryan says that he went pee in his potty (good thing), BUT baby Cole was playing in it, (bad thing).

After cleaning up and changing Cole, a friend called me who had a situation they needed to talk about, so I spent an hour on the phone with her. 

A few minutes after I hang up, Ryan tells me baby Cole spilled his (Ryan’s)  apple juice.  More cleaning.  After that was done, I finally thought I could start working on my project.  It was not to be.  As soon as I sat down to start, Ryan says he went pee on the potty again (good thing), BUT he had a little accident, and his pee sprayed all over the living room, (bad thing), and boy did it ever!

I think I went through every towel and rag we had this morning cleaning up snot, pee, juice, and milk.  Needless to say, my project is still sitting here, and I don’t have enough time to start on it now before dinner, so maybe I’ll get lucky and have some time tonight, when the boys are sleeping.  🙂