Monday, April 27, 2009

Spring! COME ON DOWN!

Can I just say that I am absolutely tired of this dreary winter? Erm...spring? Whatever. LOL
This weekend we had SNOWSHOWERS. Sure, its only the middle of April...well almost end, but snowshowers? COME ON MOTHER NATURE, please stop teasing us.

My girls are starting to get antsy and well lets face it, so am I. I yearn to feel the warm sun rays on my bare shoulders, to smell the sweet scent of clover. My girls just want to be able to play outside with out their winter coats or mittens.

Craft time

This week, if it ever gets decent outside. We are going to go on a nature walk. I am going to have the oldest pick her favorite sticks and pine cones and well...stuff that is laying on the ground as I am trying to teach her to respect the environment. We are going to make a birdhouse out of an old milk carton. It should be a blast, she loves glue :D

Me time

Today I have been trying relentlessly for over an hour to fix my computer. It wouldn't recognize my mouse and I couldn't do anything...I found out it was the batteries. *sigh*

For the kids

I want to try to find a children's site for animal and environment preservation. I want to teach my girls to respect and protect the animals and the planet. Before she was 2 my oldest knew how to recycle. We are so proud of her. Now to teach her more about other ways to make things better for her generation.

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Emotional day

This morning, I spoke with my girlfriend (the one who lost her son) for the first time in months. I mean really spoke. We email and use facebook quite often...ahhh the power of the interwebs.
I made sure to tell her how much she means to me, how much I love her. I don't know the whole story yet as I can not due to court proceedings, but I am sure I will soon...when she is ready. I told her how she is going to become an advocate, a public speaker.

As we were speaking, my girls started battling. The youngest was crying, the oldest was being bossy, and my dear friend could hear this in the background. She told me to love my girls, protect them and raise them right. Give them a voice and let it be heard.

Then we cried together.

I know there will be more tears, and I am sure every time we see each other there will be a flood of emotion.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Oy Its been a long time

I haven't had the chance to blog in a while. Been working like crazy, enjoying Spring time with the girls and enjoying every moment I have with them.

Since my friend lost her son in a tragic way, I have definitely tried to be there for her in any way possible. It's so sad.

The Doodlebops

We took our oldest to see The Doodlebops Live, a couple of weeks ago. And I am highly disappointed with the show. Many of the items at the merch table were choking hazards! Seriously! For kids aged 1-6 Not a good idea to sell flashing glowsticks filled with watch batteries and hanging from a lanyard that is attached by a small metal hook... WTF were they thinking? Also, they had back up dancers...W.T.F? I don't get it at all...even my child did not like it, until the end when we got to go home.

NEVER AGAIN.

Easter, Chocolates and Croup

Good Friday was FABULOUS! We went to my mom's house for early Easter supper and the girls went nuts playing with the cousins. It was so much fun to watch them all get along so well.

Saturday the weather was AMAZING so we played in the backyard. Swings, Slides, mud...it was superb. I took so many photos of those girls getting dirty.

Sunday we went to my SIL's place for dinner. The oldest actually hugged her loud uncle ON HER OWN for the first time ever, warmed my heart. Too much chocolate that day. But it was Easter and she hasn't had any since...Yes I know, mean mommy *wink. Then at bedtime it started...

The sea of boogers began to swell and ooze, from BOTH girls...UGH. Coughing was next on the table.

Monday more ooze.

Tuesday the youngest was SUPER clingy so I called in to work as she is a real momma's girl, but she slept so I thought I had called in for nothing, until 12:45 when she began the croup seal bark and was having troubles breathing... siiiiigh

Into the bathroom for 15 mins...did nothing.
Bundle her up and take her outside for 25 mins...it subsided THANK HEAVENS!

Today (Friday) the breathing is much better and the sea of snot is still here, but its no longer high tide!

Me Time

Today, not too much in the way of me time. I have to TRY to get the youngest to nap so I can have my shower before work. Then tomorrow we have to attend a memorial for a dear friend who lost his battle with Lukemia last week, and I also have to go through all of the toys, clothes and appliances for charity.

Happy Weekend my friends :)

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Life is short

I'm sad today.

I've been sad for almost a week.

Last week, my girlfriend lost her 6 month old baby.

It's now going through the court system.

I won't say anything more about this until it's done in the system.

:(

No happy chatter today.

Hold your babies. Love em today like you will have no tomorrow.
Make every second last.
Enjoy it all, drink it up, breathe it in.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Bye bye soother....

and so it begins.

My youngest has had chapped lips for about a month. Well, its more than just lips, its all around the soother line. We have tried extreme moisturizers, oatmeal moisturizers, lip balm, vasaline...NOTHING is working. The redness goes away for a couple of days, the BAM its back and angrier than ever.

Today I bit the bullet. I "lost" her soother for nap time. Needless to say, she is NOT sleeping and I doubt she will.

The oldest is watching "Henry and his Bucket full of Dinosaurs", which surprises me, this is usually movie time.

Things are going so fast around here. My babies are growing up. They are getting more independant and I miss the baby-ness of it all. *sigh*


PLAYTIME

Today the oldest and I will be reading a couple of books. I am trying to teach her to read the small common words, the, and, book, ball, shoe, mom, dad....
Colouring will also be a big part of the afternoon, and then after the youngest's "nap" time is over, we are having a Sharon, Lois and Brahm dance party!


ME TIME

I will be journaling for the girls today. Filling them in on this past week in their life, filling it with words of encouragement and praise. Maybe getting them to give me something special to put in it for them kinda like a time capsule.

Friday, March 13, 2009

No longer my "little" girl

My oldest started putting herself to bed *sniff*....AND she insists on checking on her baby sister alone too!

She makes sure we are seated in the livingroom, says goodnight and off she goes.
She peeks in her sisters crib, climbs into bed and covers up for the night...

They sure do grow up too fast! It's amazing! One day they are peeing all over the change table and the next minute they are almost in school...next she'll be getting married, or having her own babies!...hopefully not that soon ;)

SPRING CLEANING HAS BEGUN!

I steam cleaned the carpet in the back, vacuumed like a madwoman today, swept, mopped, sqeegeed, organized, recycled, washed dried, hanged and changed many many things. Hmmm
Maybe because it is no longer MINUS A MILLION and it is finally on the plus side of zero. I feel energized
I wonder how long this will stay?

Tomorrow out comes the vinnegar, water and newspaper for the windows. Bleach for the walls and cupboards and toys....

JOY

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Where did my Potty Seat go Mommy?

The first thing my daughter asked me this morning.

She has been toilet trained for 14 months now (night trained too WOOHOO), but we always used one of those seats that go on the toilet. It was perfect.

Seat + kiddie stool = toilet trained!

But then I realized that when she starts school (possibly next month) she won't have the seat like she has at home. She might have a stool at school, but will have to learn to sit unassisted on the toilet. She's never sat unassisted on a toilet. She has a tiny tushy that she knows can fit through the seat and she is nervous... So I hid the kiddie seat.

So far she has done ok. She's a little nervous but is kinda figuring it out.

But, how do I explain the appearance of said seat when the youngest has to use it later today?

The youngest has always had constipation issues. So, to make it easier on her tummy (and bottom), we trained her on the kiddie seat about 6 months ago, just for the ease. Now she will only wet her diapers, and things are much easier :)

Kiddie Time

Today we pulled the kids table into the livingroom for some good colouring fun. The oldest wrote the letter "P" and the number "8" without any prompting from mommy! She also decided that the dark blue colour was not too nice, so the light blue would be PERFEK.

The youngest, ate the pink crayon first and tried to chase it with a yellow. Mmmmm. I caught her and no she didn't swallow any of the crayons. I fished the pieces right out of her mouth before she could really get a good taste of them.

This afternoon will be play time. Working on speach with the youngest (as she still isn't talking) and teaching her objects. Ball, Cat, Book, Shoe, Cup....the easy everyday words.

Me Time

My me time today will be starting the photo book for my girls. I've been wanting to make one for sometime and don't get much time. So for half an hour today I will get to work on it. I am so excited!

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

It's YUCCKY mommy!

I was blown away by my oldest this morning. She has been on an "I don't want to eat" or "It's yuckky" kick for a while now, but this morning she took me into the kitchen and said "I want reglar cereal" So I promptly went through all the cereal we have in the house.

"Lucky charms?"
"nope...reglar cereal mommy"
"Mini wheats?"
" I said REGLAR cereal mommy"

so I grabbed the multigrain cheerios... "Yes Mommy, those ones! THE REGLAR CEREAL"
I poured her a bowl, and to my sheer delight she ate it all!

I have found that meal times are getting trickier. I have desperately started hiding more foods in things the oldest will eat...which sometimes is not much at all.

I have tried small portions, waiting until she asks for her meal, offering her a couple of choices, getting her to help me cook, drawing the shopping list so she can pick out the food. And she is stubborn!

Finally after some patience (it was REALLY hard to be patient) she wanted to eat the best cereal in the house!

HAZZAH!

Craft time

Today we are going to make cards for friends that live across the country. On the weekend she can mail them off.

  • glitter glue (3 colours)
  • paint
  • cardboard
  • stickers
  • feltpens
  • buttons
  • various scrapbooking supplies

Me time

Today, my me time consisted of catching up with old friends and complaining about our weather (This Weather is absolutely FREEZING! It was -40.5C this morning! OMG I just want spring to come NOW...or even better YESTERDAY!). I am also hoping to fold my laundry and put it away.
After work tonight I have to defrag my computer, and run a virus scan.

Monday, March 9, 2009

Baby its cold outside

Well, its Monday. Something about the first Monday after the time change is calming to me. Every time. I don't know what it is, but I feel stress free again.

I got an email from the preschool this morning and we may be sending the oldest to school early. I have to let them know very soon though. What to do....

Playtime

Today, since its way too cold to go outside. We are going to have a dress up day. Nice and relaxing, with hot chocolate, and good conversation. Well, as good as it can get with a three year old.

Supper will be Linguini with chicken and mushrooms in an alfredo sauce, baked with cheese.

Me time

Today my me time will be a shower (hopefully sans three year old). As I have to work this kink out of my neck. It's been bothering me for 2 weeks now.

Friday, March 6, 2009

she's growing up

So we did it. We registered our oldest for preschool. It's in the basement of an old church, and quite honestly I had no clue what to expect.

THIS PLACE IS AMAZING!

My daughters happily ran (or wobbled) to each center, greeting other children, playing with the toys, puzzles and musical instruments (the youngest of course tried to taste everything in sight). My husband and I looked at each other and agreed, this place great! The teachers are so kind and patient, taking their time introducing themselves and even getting on the floor and playing with the children, walking us parents through each station and informing us of the basis of said station. Needless to say, I eagerly signed all of the cheques!

It was quarter to 6, we had already been there over an hour and it was past...way past suppertime so I gave the oldest our typical countdown

"Honey, see mommy's phone? What numbers are there?"
"Five Four Five mommy"
"When the numbers say Five Five O, its time to get our coats on and go home"
"Ok mommy"

We looked at my phone a couple of times, then she saw the numbers 5:50...so I reminded her that it was time to leave. That's when it happened.

The mother of all tantrums! HIGH PITCHED SCREAMING, followed by tears, jumping, throwing herself on the floor.

I was trying to wrangle the youngest, so my hubby took over...and the teacher jumped right in. It still took another 15 minutes to get her out, but with the teacher being so kind and patient it made it a bit easier.

It was clear, at that point, that THIS was the school for us!

Me Time

My me time today is this, right now. Blogging. Fridays are usually super busy for me and its hard to get a few minutes in to pamper myself. Spring is coming, though. The sunshine is lasting longer (now if it would only get warmer...-24C... WHY?!) and walks will be happening again.

Thursday, March 5, 2009

brrrrrr

Ok this is a little ridiculous.

Yesterday was a GLORIOUS +5C. The snow and ice were melting off of the house, the roads were turning into ponds, it gave me hope. Until about 10 minutes after LOST last night.

The wind started picking up, the snow started falling and so did the temperature. It is currently -14C, but with a windchill its almost -30.


Today is the day

Today we register our oldest for preschool. I don't know if I am ready for this step. I know she is. When I told her what today was, her eyes lit up..."REAWWY?" yes I replied "REAWWY REAWWY!" *sniff*

I'm a bit sad. I can't believe that I am going to have to hand her off to someone other than family or friends for a couple of hours a week...ok its only a couple of hours, but that's more than we've ever been apart. I have to put my complete trust in a stranger. It scares the dickens out of me, but its a part of it all, and she needs the friends since there are no little kids in our neck of the woods.


Me Time

Today my me time will be taken up with music, maybe a good book and some bad TV. We all need a little bad TV once a week. It's good for the soul ;)

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Two girls under the age of 4 is fun! Especially in the dreadfully long winter we've been having. Coming up with new ways to keep them entertained, happy, fed, not screaming...you have to get really creative sometimes.

This morning, I took them for a small walk, as the littlest (still not steady on her feet in the winter boots) refused to keep her mittens on... sure it was only -4C but still...kinda cold. I gave my cheapo camera to the oldest and let her take pictures of our journey. It lasted all of 5 mins until she was done.

siiiigh

We can't do the scavenger hunts yet, as there is still snow EVERYWHERE. Most people in this neck of the woods don't shovel their walks, the ravine is a bit far to go for a squirrel hunt (with a camera).

So I think, I've decided, for now....we will bake. I will teach the oldest patience, measurements, how to make certain colours with food colouring. The youngest, when awake, will be happy having dance parties and rolling balls....when she's not taking aim at one of us as she masters the art of throwing.

This afternoon we will be making banana muffin top cookies, With some healthy modifications. MMmmmm. We have done this a few times already. To do so you will need the following:

  • Banana muffin mixture
  • 2 large overripe bananas
  • chocolate chips
  • nuts (if desired)
Mash the bananas in a large bowl.
Add the muffin mix for 12 muffins as called for on the package
Mix until smooth.
Throw in desired amount of chocolate chips and nuts if using them.

Drop onto lightly greased cookie sheet.
Bake at 350 for 20 mins.

Cool on racks.

This should make about 18 - 24 "muffin tops" as opposed to a dozen muffins.


Naptime is upon us

The youngest is down for a nap, dinner is made already and the oldest is watching Toy Story. Sometimes we all need a little help from Star Command.

There are a few things I need to accomplish today.

I need to vacuum but since the oldest likes to do that and the youngest likes to chase it, we can leave that chore until after naptime.

Dishes. The never ending pile. Must fill and run the dishwasher. It seems since I have started cooking more foods from scratch I have more dishes. The down fall of healthier eating.

The bathroom, or the pit as I lovingly refer to it as. Tub needs to be scrubbed and the drain needs to be hair free, floor needs to be swept and mirror needs to be toothpasteless.

My laundry. I need to fold it all, preferably without the "help" of my elves.

Taxes need to be finished...That will wait until after LOST tonight or when/if the other chores get finished prior to me leaving for work.

All in all, my day is full. My life is full. My arms are full. But I'm happy!

Me Time

My me time during the week has somewhat changed. I can no longer nap in the afternoon, as the oldest just won't have it. I can't soak in the bath for an hour, as my youngest won't have it. Nor can I go off gallavanting with the girls for some wobbly-pops in an hour's notice. My family won't have it, nor will my wallet.

Instead, I have journals for my girls. One for each of them, I play barbies and dress up with them, I call my friends for a quick chat in between tantrums and I miss holding my little ones in my arms. My me time today is to reflect and soak it all in. It won't last forever, but its still here today.