The Steven and Chris Adventure

How did I suddenly end up showing my home on Steven and Chris?  That is a mighty fine question.  About a month and a half ago, I got an email out of the blue from their Senior Decor Producer (awesome job title BTW) asking if I would be willing to do a tour of my house for the show.  I responded enthusiastically (i.e. many exclamation marks were used).  There was no set timeline, so I got my butt in gear to finish off a few things, like the photo wall in the dining room.  Then suddenly, while I was at the ROM with my kids and visiting Mother-In-Law Diana, I got an email on my phone asking if maybe they could come the next day???    Wowzers.  I like to think I remained calm, but I have no doubt my mother-in-law would argue otherwise.

That evening I cleaned like a MOTHER... so many things were stuffed into drawers and closets that have yet to be re-discovered.  Then, as I checked my computer, thinking of everything I had left to do before they came, I realized that the next morning I had parent duty at Cam's nursery school until 11:30.  They were coming at 1.  Swear words were uttered.  To say I was a little distracted while setting up the kids' snack would be a bit of an understatement.  

Luckily, I got another email that morning saying that they would have to reschedule.  THANK YOU UNIVERSE.  By the time they came the following week, I even more time to stash away the clutter and 'style' my house (as in, I made my son's bed and put the toaster oven on the back porch).

I wish I had taken the opportunity to grab some good photos of the house that day, because Lord knows it will never, ever be that tidy again!  However, I was a busy bee for the 3 hours that the producer Barb was here, discussing wording, trying to remember the wording we discussed, fussing over every object in every room, doing voice-overs and on-camera takes.  They did the whole house, although the segment on my bedroom was cut and we discussed many, many more items than were shown!

After Barb left, the videographer Ved stayed for another 2, almost 3 hours taking shots of all the details in the house.  I think he did an amazing job.  The fabulous Diana was thankfully still in town and took the boys out for the entire afternoon (I have no idea where!).  There was no way I could have done this with them in the house - there is no way they could have been that quiet for that long!

Diana was a little surprised to see the cameras and equipment still here when they got back at 5pm.  The boys were great about not making a huge mess in the rooms Ved hadn't shot yet.  We asked him to shoot the kitchen first so that Diana could start making dinner (yummy knedliky!) before the boys lost their minds.  Below is may favourite shot of two professionals hard at work.

Then off they went, and I think before Ved had even finished pulling out of the driveway Cam had emptied a bucket of cars all over the living room floor and Will had an armload of trains dumped on the sofa.

Then Diana left, and my parents came, along with Chris's brother Dave.  (Did I mention that during this I also had William's birthday party - two days after the above scene - and Halloween, and had enjoyed visitors for about the last 5 or 6 weeks, starting a few days before my brother's wedding?)

The great news is that Mom was able to come to the studio with me to tape the "live" interview with Steven and Chris.  When I was in the green room, they asked if I thought she would mind being mic'ed as well - and I thought it best not to tell her in advance and make her freak out.  So just before the taping started, they gave a very shocked Barb Mackay her mic!

Photo courtesy of Flora Di Vetta

We had a lovely time and I was so glad she was there. It was really neat to see how they put the show together.  For example, the banana ice cream they showed at the end actually took about 15 minutes, and they were having a fit about it.  Also, the interview with the singer was done in front of a totally different audience, and we did not actually watch the entryway segment either!  Plus they actually asked me a few more questions, but I guess my nervous blathering responses needed to be cut in the interest of time. :)  But I am glad they kept the part with my mom - although she later confessed that she had no idea what they were meant when they asked her if she DIY'ed. :P  (She does by the way - she has recovered many chairs, sewed many curtains, and done more than her fair share of painting; I come by it naturally.)

So there you have it, my whirlwind adventure with fame.  It was a blast and I am hungry for more! They may have created a monster - I am crafting reality show pitches as I type. :)  WELCOME to anyone new who came from the show and actually read this whole thing - I would love for you to stick around!  And thanks to those of you who have read from the beginning - you are the wind beneath my wings. Don't worry, I won't forget the little people. :)