Belated Easter post

Happy Friday the 13th everyone. I am with cold at the moment, and the overall congestion and achiness has me a bit miserable. Surprisingly, despite the two germy kids I live with, I haven’t had a cold in a long time. I guess my luck was up.

I’m writing this as I wait for a dental appointment. Like most people, I approach these visits with dread – even though I brush and floss regularly, I always worry that I’m going to be scolded for not doing it right. It’s like I’m waiting to see the principal to discuss truancy, or poor grades. I wonder if dental hygenists are trained on proper scolding technique as part of their curriculum.

Let’s move on…to why I started this post. Mostly, it was to share the delightful pic of Brendan collecting chocolate-filled plastic eggs in my sister’s back yard. He had so much fun, and was so focused. He barely lifted his eyes from the ground.
As for Nathan, he lost the thread about a minute after we went outside – he was far more interested in collecting the decorative white rocks from the garden. But they both enjoyed themselves, so that’s what really matters.
The weekend was lovely – we got to spend time with my sister and her kids, and I also had brunch with my sister-in-law and her sister and her nephew.
Brendan proved that he invites injury wherever he goes (a trait he inherited from his mother, for those who are curious). The poor kid ended up with scratches, a huge scrape on his knee, a huge sliver in his hand, and various other bruises. All in a span of 24 hours. It’s a gift.

Oh, and have I mentioned that I have a cold?

New bikes, raccoons and work

Before I begin, I need to state that this is being written ( with two thumbs) on my iPhone. In the car. I’m not the one driving. So, please excuse typos and strange iPhone autocorrected words.
We are headed south to visit my sister for Easter. This will be my first visit home in a year. I do see my sister, but usually she heads to visit me in Toronto.

Anyway, on to the main event. Those of you who have been paying attention may have noticed that I’ve been neglectful of my blog for the past couple of weeks. Believe me, it’s not that there hasn’t been stuff for me to talk about. I have no excuse other than wanting to disconnect from the interweb and just read my book. Alice Hoffman, The Dovekeepers. I am obsessed with this book (that I’m reading on my Kobo). So good. Here’s a link to the book.

A big milestone was reached in Brendan’s life over the past couple of weeks. As soon as the weather started to turn nice, we brought out the tricycle. It took one short ride to see that I’ve the winter Brendan outgrew it. So off we went to Canadian Tire to get a two-wheeler (with training wheels). He loves it and rides his bike with no fear. Nathan inherited (gladly) the trike, but only pedals if one of us is holding on to him or the bike.

As for the raccoons. I just don’t have he energy for he full story now, but to summarize: four raccoons were evicted from our chimney. Three were about the size of my hand. It cost $300, and (until they were gone) many sleepless nights. Damn raccoons.

Oh..and work is exhausting me lately. Anyone have tips on how I can become independently wealthy?

Skywalker to the rescue

It’s hard to see the extent of the damage from this angle, but this week both railway and highway service was disrupted when a giant dinosaur rampaged the city. Cars and buses were overturned, trains were derailed and general chaos took over the city. Luckily, Luke Skywalker was nearby to take down the dinosaur, and stop the beast before he could cause further damage.

Luke Skywalker surveys the wreckage from his Landspeeder

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reasons why my bed is taken over

This will be a quick one.
I am envious of parents whose children sleep in their own beds every.single.night., with no wake ups. Either they are blessed, or they are liars. Or a bit of both.
My older son started sleeping through the night long before his first birthday. I classify this as not waking up and needing me before 5am. After 5am, I am willing to concede.

As an arrogant and naive first time mother, I was certain Brendan’s stellar sleeping skills were a result of my impressive sleep training. It was gradual, and we never had to leave him to cry-it-out for more than a couple of minutes.

Baby number two proved that it was a fluke. We tried many techniques, and none of them have worked to get Nate to consistently sleep (in his bed) through the night. He teases us once in a while, lulling me into a false sense of security that I can reclaim my bed. For three days in a row he stayed in bed until 4:30 or later.

Then last night happened. So much crying, waking up every 20 minutes starting at 10:30. He didn’t calm down until (in a groggy barely-able-to-stand state) I brought him into my bed. Around midnight.
Here he is, sleeping in. Much cuter now than when he was kicking me in the face at 4am.

The steady march of time is kicking my butt

It is official. My little guy, who insists that he is a “big kid” is enrolled in school. I tried not to think too much about it, because I do not want to get all weepy, but I still remember the days when school was a distant event not even worth thinking too much about. I have time to get used to the idea, of course. It’s only the end of February, and he won’t be starting school until September, but it just seems like it’s all happened far.too.quickly.

When did this little guy grow up? He recognizes letters and numbers (although he’s only really solid at knowing the letter B); he has an amazing imagination and tells me the funniest stories, some of which are likely partly true. Maybe. It’s hard to verify facts with a 3(and a half )-year-old.

I’d like time to just pause for a few days once in a while so that I can stop and just enjoy the best parts of him…his giggles and hugs, and watching him run sprints up and down the upstairs hallway, usually in nothing but a pair of tiny briefs.

how could that be over three years ago?

Cheeeese!!

The Ongoing Adventures of Tom and Joe

The story of how Tom and Joe escaped the hula hoops

One night last summer I told Nate a bedtime story about two brothers – Tom and Joe. He likely didn’t notice, but the story bore a strong resemblance to the busy day we’d all had, which included taking the ferry over to Toronto Island. The main difference is that they two brothers in the story were on a search for a buried treasure, and not with their parents. That same night, I told Brendan the same story (they go to sleep at separate times so it was brand new to him). That night, the “Tom & Joe” series of stories was born.

Almost every night since, the husband and I have been forced requested by Brendan to “tell a story about Tom and Joe”. In the early days, we would make it up based on a recent activity, like going to the zoo or the park. Some of the best stories were based on the weekend when we rented a small cottage that was right on a beach and the boys spent two days playing in the sand and catching frogs. We all spent a lot of time outside last summer, so had a lot of material to draw from, and our stories were always a hit. When we’re asked to repeat a specific story, that’s where it gets tricky. Nothing has been written down, and there are  many nights when I have to guess the details of a story that Daddy had told the night before. Other times, Brendan will request that the story contain very specific details – like “Tom and Joe playing with power guys in the deep, dark woods”. [Definition: Power Guys – action figures. Specifically old He-Man action figures that were purchased on eBay long before we had kids.] Also, the reference to the “deep, dark woods” is from my new favourite kid’s show – Peep and the Big Wide World.

We’ve recently toyed with the idea of writing down a few of the popular stories, possibly even getting some books printed with the stories. The more I think about it, the better I like the idea.

In fact, as soon as I get my butt in gear, I’m going to do it. A tangible piece of evidence of the stories we shared would be a fantastic keepsake. Something I can read to the boys over and over again; something that we can look at years from now that offers a small glimpse into the kind of boys they were, and the types of things they enjoyed.

Reasons why snow balls are the greatest things ever…

…ok, maybe I personally don’t think that snow balls are the greatest thing ever. For example, I am currently addicted to this salad by Summer Fresh.  It’s the seven grain salad, and I get it in a pre-packaged bento box with hummus and pita. It even comes with almonds and dried fruit to add to the salad. THAT is the best thing ever.

To others, though, snow balls are where it’s at.

moments before a snow grenade

Yesterday afternoon everyone at my house was getting a little bit squirrelly, and by that I mean that I was in a bad mood, ready to snap at whomever looked at me cross-eyed, and the two little guys were acting as if all the words I spoke were in an ancient dialect of gibberish. The husband was taking a well-deserved (and brief) nap. Post-nap, someone had the brilliant idea that we all go outside. There was lots of snow, it wasn’t cold, and the hope was that getting out of our small house would improve everyone’s moods.

Like a magic spell, it worked. The boys were surprisingly cooperative in getting into their snow gear, and minutes after getting outside all the crankiness was gone.

I credit the change, in large part, to snow balls. The husband is an expert snow ball maker, partly because he grew up in Northern Ontario where the winters are longer and colder than they are in the South. Nate (yup…I’ve moved to their real names) loves nothing more than to walk around holding a snow ball, acting as if he’s going to throw it, but rarely ever following through.

Brendan is into throwing them up in the air and watching the snow ball crash and explode on the ground. Complete with sound effects. In case you are curious, the proper sound to make when a snow ball explodes on the ground is “Kabooom!!”

We were having so much fun, that we practically had to drag them back into the house. Oh, and I also had to go for a wagon ride.
[We never did get our sled out of storage. What can be seen here is the most snow we’ve had all year. And now it’s pretty much all gone.]

just pull the damn wagon, lady. enough with the pictures

….a nice cup of tea is exactly what I need. This is my new fave from Majesteas on Queen East in Leslieville. So good.

and now it’s freezing

 

Last week I wished for snow, and my wish has been fulfilled.

Not too much snow – about 5cm, but it’s now about -20C with the windchill. That is fricken cold!

I would like to rescind my wish for snow so that we can return to our regularly scheduled unseasonably warm weather. I like not having to wear boots or a hat or a scarf.

 

Thank you

And Here’s the bed

It took two of us 1.5 hours. Three screwdrivers, one hammer, one broken nail (on my thumb). Resulted in one happy “big kid”