finally. my new site at http://www.alimartell.com is up and ready.

so, i will be leaving this site for bigger and better things.

so, if you are here and not here, you are in the wrong place.


please check out my new digs at: http://www.alimartell.com

here it is.
the moment you've all been waiting for...
my first recap of the tv season. survivor.
(this may get lost when i switch over to my new blog...but i have no idea when that will be...so i may as well get it up over here...and bring on the snark)

~~ Flicka (the rollergirl) is the new Courtney (the fire dancer), only more annoying and dumb. the chickens? i seriously would have beaten the crap out of her. and was she the one who said, "go Whiteys?"
~~ i totally thought Cao boi was introducing himself as "cowboy" as some sort of nickname - anyone else? no? just me? "You have some bad wind" snerk.
~~ he. ozzy in the tree like mowgli in the jungle book. hilarious!
~~ did you see Nate's face light up when Jeff gave them flint. who needs seiku and his hypothetical fire, anyway...
~~ chicken man=judd lite
~~ and the "cuddle puddle"? if it was that cold, why were their shirts off?
~~ and what did he say...Karma is a bizzle? abysmal? anyone catch that?

oh my god oh my god oh my god oh my god.
seriously. the one freakin' time i forget my camera. seriously. i take that thing everywhere. everywhere. but, yesterday i totally forgot that i was going straight downtown after work to the film festival. and i forgot my camera.

so i have no pictures.
no pictures of the line outside Roy Thompson Hall
no pictures of the losers walking around with tvs strapped to their backs so people in line could watch flim festival footage.
no pictures of the 7 girls from Manchester who we stood in line with and sat with (and were just as Jude-obsessed as i am)
no pictures of the red carpet.
or of Anthony Minghella
or Robin Wright Penn
or Juliette Binoche
or Jude Law.
mmmmm...Jude Law.

he's gorgeous in person, folks. gorgeous.

and during the movie screening, Breaking and Entering, which was great, by the way, i highly recommend, we were sitting right above the cast. i spied on Jude as he whispered to his castmates. and wondered who the girl sitting next to him was. it was not Sienna Miller. or his nanny friend. he was there alone. in a gorgeous dark blue suit and brown pointy shoes. HOT.
and after the movie screening, the husband waited for me as i was the last person out of the building. well, i and the Manchester girls, were the last ones out. we found a prime spot where we could see Sir Jude shmoozing it up with the VIPs. ah...to be a VIP.

Thirteen of the most unnecessary baby products at least for me. i'm sure this will be different for everyone. 1. Peg Perego high chair. we got the White leatherette. big mistake. big. the tray was too high for my little ones to feed themselves because they couldn't reach the food. the tray was also way too far away from their bodies that they would drop all the food into their laps. also, it was impossible to clean. i bought an easy clean fisher price and i love it. pegs are eye candy. totally not worth it. 2. Diaper genie we have never used this. mostly because we rarely change our babies in their bedrooms, and just throw the diapers straight into the garage. why do i want them sitting around in my house when i can just get rid of them right away? 3. Change table my kids were way too squirmy. and it's a huge pain to always have to go upstairs to change diapers. a pad on the floor is perfect for me, thanks. 4. Peg perego double stroller we got the tender xl. 4 years ago, before the mountain buggy and valco side-by-sides existed. it's huge and bulky and it's really hard to steer. and i always end up using my cheap grace side-by-side. 5. Swing we got a graco swing as a baby gift - we asked for it - and we never used it. wait, that's not true. we used it about 4 times. it's not that it wasn't great...it's just between the bouncy chair and the gymini, it totally wasn't necessary. 6. Wipe warmer um, yes, tell me again why this is necessary. are wipes really THAT cold? 7. Bath ring this was the very reason i HATED bath time. my kids never quite fit right into this contraption and i never had the right angle to wash them properly. 8. Cheap stroller the evenflo comfort dimensions plus. what a waste of money. it fell apart. and the seat never sat up straight. pain in the ass, if you ask me. i bought myself a peg pliko and a zooper boogie to replace it and have never looked back. 9. Bottle warmer um, yeah, the best thing you can do is teach your babies to enjoy their formula/milk lukewarm to cool. i promise. it will save you the hassle of having to continue heating their milk forever. 10. Shoes with the invention of Robeez, baby shoes are completely unnecessary. 11. Snowsuit i have a bunting insert for my infant seat. amazing. snowsuits, be gone. no more bulk, and trying to fit the straps of the carseat over the giant snowsuit. no overheating. 12. What to Expect in the First Year the only thing worse than this book is ""hat to expect when you are expecting". these are two books that are gathering dust in the closet in my basement. 13. Baby powder seriously, have you ever used it? i still have the same bottle of johnson's that i bought when Emily was born. Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Raggedy 2. Sadie 3. Jenny Ryan 4. Tug 5. Lindsey 6. froggie mama 7. The Shrone 8. Tiffany 9. Audrey 10. Kimmy 11. something blue 12. buttercup 13. Julie 14. Jennifer 15. Vicky (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

my other pretty one...watches Rockstar??


i wish you could see the clock in the shot also - it was 12:30-something.
(we missed the first showing because of meet-the-teacher night at the kids' school, so we had to watch with time-shifting. needless to say, i'm zonked.)

she had spilled her water in her crib and was laying in it, soaking wet and freezing. so, we let her come out and play in bed for a little bit. she was in heaven.

three things i dislike in this world:

carpool
being wet
being late

i'm experiencing the joy of all three this morning.
lucky me.

have i scared y'all away with my blahs?
it's funny that you write certain posts and assume that no one will comment on them. like that day that you were blocked, gave up and wrote an entire post about socks, and you get the most comments you've ever gotten.
then there are the posts that you assume will generate the most comments...like the one i wrote yesterday, where i talked about being bummed, about being in the same theater as Jude Law (#1 on my list), and about a sack that you can hang your child from while you do your business in a public bathroom. and you get nothing. nothing.

i'm not fishing here.
it's just interesting.

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anyone hear the latest in federletus news?
it seems that it's another boy for the Federlines, at least according to the national enquirer now, i have no idea if there's any truth to this rumor, but i thought she was having a little Jailynn?

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anyone watching Rockstar Supernova?
i'm a little bit on the obsessed side - since i'm watching the monday night, tuesday night, and wednesday night shows each week...

at first i was all about Dilana. she was a creepy and scary and mysterious chick. now she's just an emotional wreck that destroys songs. they already had one of those on that show...ahem...can we say Zayra...and we all know what happened to her...

i'm hoping that my man Toby will take this thing home. I love him. he's all accent-y and evs-y. and i can't get that freakin' oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh song out of my head. and that ass? mmmm. and that's got to count for something.

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anyone thinking that Prison Break is not nearly as good as it was last year???

i don't know what it is. just can't really shake it this morning.

i'm usually not one to admit when i'm feeling down. i'm usually all smiles and all about the "everything's fine."
by nature, i'm incredibly independent (which, most likely is the result of growing up in not one, but two emotionally unattached workaholic families. i didn't really have a choice. either you are independent, or you don't survive) and don't like to rely on others, for anything really.
i like for everyone to think that everything 100% fine, 100% of the time. Sure, i'm Fabulous, but sometimes i just feel shitty.

i guess there's just a lot going on. i'm having some clothes fitting issues (in that they just aren't fitting. at all), i'm having some friends issues (yes, once again), i'm having some web design issues, and i don't even have a freakin' kitchen sink

the good news of the day, though, is that on Wednesday night, i've got tickets to see my Jude in the movie Breaking and Entering at the Film Festival.
AND
hes.going.to.be.there.

the husband better pray that he doesn't want to take me home. he IS on my list, after all.

EDIT:
my BLAHs are completely gone.
it's amazing what a little good news will do for you!
Ro, my designer over at Ciao my Bella, is working so hard on my design today, even though September 11th is a day that hits really close to home for her, and i'm so appreciative.
so...be on the lookout for my new site (yes, people, we are getting rid of blogger for good! wahoo!) - it's not done yet, so don't go peeking around just yet...and for those of you who are worried, my good pal Haley has an automatic redirect for me, which will be handy for you until you change all your blogrolls over from I Write, Therefore I Blog to my new site, Cheaper Than Therapy. (ah, don't you just love that name???)

okay...also...
this
just might be the most hilarious thing i have ever seen in my life.

we have a new obsession in our household.



are we had our first sentence on tuesday.
(no, i'm not kidding)

Isabella is beyond obsessed with this birthday Dora doll. she walks around holding her saying, "Da-ra. da-ra!" it's actually beyond adorable.
we were sitting in the car and the Dora doll had fallen to the ground. Isabella shrieked and then said, clear as day, "I want my Dora!" (i guess it wasn't clear as day...it sounded more like, "iwama da-ra" but, you get the idea.)

and then she said it again.

until i turned around and picked it up for her.
sucker.

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on another note, please please please come and visit me at my new blog at Urbanmoms.ca

and leave a comment. let me know you were there.

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yes, i realize that i'm the LAST person on the internet to talk about Suri.

i've seen all sorts of photos of her flying around the internet from her debut in Vanity Fair and on Katie Couric's show.

i've also seen the hilarious photo that you WON'T see in Vanity Fair, where miss Suri Cruise looks like the poster girl for the new Omen movie.

Poke fun all you want. (she's Chris Klein's! she looks like L. Ron Hubbard! I think i see Pacey a little bit around the eyes! it's a wig!) lordy knows, i've been doing a lot of that! but, folks, this is one cute baby:

Thirteen of the best tv couples ever 1. Winnie and Kevin 2. Dylan and Brenda 3. Cory and Topanga 4. Ben and Felicity 5. Sonny and Carly 6. Tony and Angela 7. Joanie and Chachi 8. Zack and Kelly 9. Joey and Pacey 10. Meredith and McDreamy 11. Ross and Rachel 12. Seth and Summer 13. Jim and Pam Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Meredith 2. Tug 3. PixiePincessMom 4. froggie mama 5. Tink 6. LuluBunny 7. Amy 8. Shannon 9. Southern Girl 10. on the Rock 11. Lindsay 12. Audrey 13. Lisa 14. Cat 15. Sadie 16. Tiffany 17. wrigley 18. jersey girl 19. Ruth (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Isabella is not a crier, by nature.
she's a happy, happy baby. she cries only when she's completely overtired or if she's hurt.
so, imagine the panic when i was getting the kids out of the van and isabella started crying out of nowhere. and crying. and crying. and crying. and didn't stop. and started turning purple.
and then i saw it.

she had got her thumb stuck in this:


what is that, you ask?
well, i'll tell you.
that's her carseat.
it has a finger-sized hole right on the armrest.
sure, the fabric is supposed to cover it, but curious children can quite easily pull that fabric up.

and do this to themselves:


(it was really hard to get a good shot of her thumb, since she didn't want me having any part of it, but she basically stripped a layer of skin off and the swelling? i don't even want to talk about the swelling. bless her heart.)

the mega post.
let us begin my recap of my trip to montreal by trying to explain to you how freakin' adorable this child is:

yes, yes. i realize in this shot, he's looking very George W. again...
it's just the things that come out of his mouth are priceless. seriously.

since i've got lots to say, i'll keep it to the top 4 things that made me laugh my ass off:
1. "Daddy! I'm getting hair on my legs! i'm becoming a daddy!"
2. "I sure love my headmuffs."
3. "Mommy, why is Emily eating her hands?"
4. "Are people made of wood?" "No, Josh." "Playdoh, then?" "No, Josh." "Then what the heck are people made of?"

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alrighty, let's move on to the rabbit, shall we?


sure, he looks all innocent and such, but this rabbit eats everything in sight. including barbie's fingers, which, as i'm sure you can imagine, did NOT impress Emily in the least.

Isabella was a little obsessed. all day long, "hi daddit!" she'd say, waving hi to Beamer. until he'd come close, and then she'd scream her head off!

i, on the other hand, was not. the first night we were there, i woke up, thinking Emily had rolled over on top of me (i was sleeping in a twin bed with Emily, with Isabella in the pack and play beside us). when i opened my eyes, i realized that it was not my daughter who was on top of me, but a little rabbit. just sitting right on my chest. i wanted to scream, but since i didn't want to wake my girls, and i didn't want to start up with the rabbit (i was nervous that he was going to get territorial and go nutty on me...also, i didn't want him to eat my shoes) so i just laid there. staring him down.
that was the end of me sleeping in Montreal. i was scared of a little rabbit.

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it's funny. sometimes things are just meant to be.
every time we go away, i try, at least once, to get out of it. i don't like travelling. i'm a control freak, and don't like being out of control. and that's what road trips, and airplanes, and vacations are to me (although, i'd hardly call anything that involves me travelling with 3 children until 6, a VACATION). so, it's true for this Montreal trip too. i tried to back out several times.
it's not that i didn't want to go.
and it's not that i didn't think i'd have a good time, because i knew that i would.
i really like Adina and Manny, and always have a good time when i see them.
it's just a thing that i do.
but had i missed it, i would have missed the most random of randoms. my friend, who i haven't seen in years (i'm pretty sure that she's never met any of my kids...to give you an idea of how long it's been), happened to be visiting HER sister in law in Montreal on the same weekend. we had no idea.
Elana was one of my best friends - if not my best - in high school. I spent more time at her house in my four years of high school than pretty much anywhere else. We lost touch when i moved to Toronto and she moved to New York. lives, school, significant others, distance all got in the way. We stayed friends, but it wasn't the same. it was an email and phone call here and there. an update on what the other was doing.
it was so wonderful to see her. even though it was a tiny minute (well, it was a good 20 minutes) of my life, i'll probably remember it forever. i got to meet her husband. her baby. i can't even imagine when i'll see her next. but it was almost like a little breath of fresh air to see her. she looks EXACTLY the same as she did in high school. exactly. and it made my heart ache to be back there. in high school. just for a second.

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also...a man fell on my ankle. i'm serious.

also...a man in a truck freakin hit my car. but he left a note, which i thought was VERY honest of him. because there's no way i would have ever left a note.

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last but not least, we have friends who are the Montreal version of us.
their daughter is a month younger than Emily.
their son is a month older than Josh.
and their baby is a month older than Isabella.
we even have the exact. same. van.
freaky, i know.

we get along really well, and always get together with them when we visit. it's great for the kids.




you didn't think i could post without including this adorable munchkin...did you??

i will be back, i promise, with my montreal mega-post. i've got so much to say.
but, we'll start with the found porn that i will be sending into Maxim. oh, yes, i will.

yesterday we went to this place called "Banana Zoo." it was an indoor playground inside the Recreatheque. (if you check out their website, they will be open on LABORD day. in case you were wondering. he).

official sign. this is NOT a joke. i repeat. it's NOT a joke.

so, just so you know, for future reference, when you visit the banana zoo, it is forbidden to jerk in ball pits. hahahahahahahaha. and yes, i am 12 years old, thank you very much. or at least i have the sense of humor of a 12-year-old.

talk about getting lost in translation.

until i can get all my Montreal-ing goodness up and online, i wanted to let you all know (all three of you who are reading on a holiday monday...it's labor day, people! go do something fun! get off your computer!) that my urbanmoms site is now live!

you can come check out my FABULOUS new blog here.
stop by and say hi. i'm a comment whore. seriously. leave me some and i'll be your best friend.

my mouth went completely dry. i was freezing cold and sweating at the same time. sweating. like a beast. the nausea was coming in waves. terrified, i was.

the truth is, i really didn't have much of a choice.
i had to do it. just bite the bullet and go for it.

so i did.
i took my foot off the clutch, put my foot on the gas, and drove the husband's stick shift car. (now, don't you start asking why he bought a gear shift car in the first place...knowing full well that his wife couldn't and wouldn't drive it...because that's a story for another day).

and i made it to work. in one piece. and i even took the highway. and took the car all the way up to 5th gear!

the only glitch is that i can't reverse.
and i only stalled once.

and the true beauty of this whole sweaty experience is that it means that the husband can drive morning carpool. he has no more excuses. totally. 100%. worth it.