Merry Christmas

It is almost 11pm Christmas Eve. I have just finished wrapping Santa's gifts for the boys, and I can hardly wait for them to wake up tomorrow. Christmas is just so different with little ones, Ethan has been like a kid in a candy store for about a week - we finally have the house decorated and a tree up, and he is just beside himself waiting for Santa to come. I caught him today talking to one of the many Santa's we have up around the house, he was asking Santa if he likes cookies, and can he leave something out for the raindeer to eat too? Ethan also wanted to know if Santa knew the alarm code to the house...

The only thing that really sucks this year is that I have to be very very careful of what I am eating, as I am measuring my blood sugar levels 8 times/day for this supposed gestational diabetes. I had it (borderline) with both boys, but I thought I might be off the hook with this wee bean because I haven't gained much weight. It is a crappy time of year to have to really watch what I am eating, but having said that I am so thankful that all is much better with this pregnancy and our wee bean will be here in a few months.

Merry Christmas to all my loyal readers (yes, all one of you). I hope to post more in the new year, but in the meantime, here are a few pics of the boys and their gingerbread house...

From rain to snow...

So last week it was so bad with the rain that there was flooding everywhere, and this week it is the snow. We have at least about a foot and a half at our place - so that makes commuting hell, but lots of fun for the kids (even the big one).

Filthy Dirty

Many of my friends have little girls. Little girls who can sit still for more than five seconds and colour (on the paper, and not the walls and chairs thank you very much). My little guys can't sit still. They love being on the move, and all the better when they are outside covered in dirt. Now don't get me wrong, I don't mind the fact that our backyard looks like an excavation site ("look mommy....HOLES"), or that my kids create more laundry than I ever thought I could do in a lifetime. As long as it isn't sleeting outside - which by the way it has been for the last week - they are in the backyard doing their thing.

A couple of months ago I managed to capture my two little munchkins in happy moods and quite receptive to being within a foot or two of each other. Even though they are filthy, I just love this shot. I could easily photoshop out the dirt, but I am not going to.

There is another side of "filthy" I was exposed to this week from the youngest - his little wee potty mouth. Big brother was having a fit over something, and generally being a bit of a handful. Nicholas just sits and watches Ethan, and after a couple of minutes asks Ken "Daddy, is Ethan being a little shit?". Perfect context and everything. Oy. Wonder where he got that from....

If you think you are having a bad day, be thankful you aren't a female rat.

A couple of nights ago I went to a "girls night in" gathering at a friend's house. It was a group of women that I don't see to often, and a couple of them I don't know very well, but it was a really nice night (it would have been MUCH nicer if I could have partaken in a bit of alcohol - a glass of wine would have really hit the spot - that and a plate of sushi).

One of the women who was there works at one of the local colleges. She was telling us that if we ever have a bad bad day, to think of the poor little mamma rat she had to deal with last week.

D went to work and saw that one of the female rats had seven babies the night before. So there she was, nursing all seven. Cute. Until the older baby rats decided that they wanted to nurse too (they belonged to another rat mommy). So this poor mama rat was trying to move with seven little babies as well as a few older babies fighting for one of 10 of her now bleeding little teats. D told us that this poor rat made her way to the glass, pressed herself up against it and it looked as though she was PLEADING to be let out. But that is not the worst of it. Oh no.

Apparently someone (likely a male lab tech) thought it would be a good idea to have the male rat left in with this group. And he wanted some action. NOW. So the poor mama rat now had to contend with hungry babies and a horny male rat, who did the deed with her seven times in about 20 minutes. My friend D (who doesn't even work in the lab) had enough, and pulled the male rat out.

So if you think you are having a bad day, thank your lucky stars you aren't a female rat.

Tagged!

The lovely Ryann has tagged me, so here we go....

1. One thing I've never done in front of an adult: Hmmm...can't really think of anything offhand.

2. One sport I wish I could do: Surf. Then I wouldn't look like such a dork in Hawaii (yeah, like I'll be getting there anytime soon!)

3. One thing I used to be able to do but have lost the ability to: Drink. Alot. Now one glass of wine and I am hooped.

4. One job I wish I could have had: Flight attendant - I would have loved to have seen more of the world.

5. One food I can't live without: Chocolate and coffee. Couldn't just narrow it down to one.

6. One food I could easily live without forever: Peanut Butter....eww......

7. One book I think is a classic: Too many to pick just one.

8. One movie I feel is personally significant to my life: Forrest Gump - but not for good reasons.

9. One song I wish I'd written: Thriller - oh to be rich.

10. One thing I wish I had more control over: Nicholas. He sure is a handful.

11. One Thing I dislike about myself: I sometimes don't say what I mean - I wish I was more honest with some things and would just "push back" when I am asked to do something I really don't want to.

12. One thing I admire about myself: If I say I am going to do something, I do it. And I am LOYAL to my friends and family.

13. One thing I would change about Canada: The politics.

14. One vehicle I hope to own someday: Something cool AND practical.

15. One profession I have no respect for: Drug dealers (is that a profession?),

16. One sexual activity I have never tried but want to: what Ryann said: "hahahahaha not a chance am I answering that one".

17. One holiday I could live without: Valentines day.

18. One piece of clothing I can't live without: My track pants.

19. One thing I'm afraid of: something happening to my family.

20. One thing I'm happy to have: My friends, family and health.

I tag whoever wants to do this....besides, I am sure there aren't even three people who read this to tag to do it!!!

Oh the stuff you see in the IKEA Catalog...

Ok, so I am a bit slow on the uptake - we all know that. But I thought this was just too funny, even though it was talked about here and here in late August. I don't think I will ever think about IKEA the same way again....

Sleep - who the hell needs it?

With baby #3 on the way, Ken and I figured that we should probably think about getting Nicholas out of the crib and into a "big boy bed". Thinking is where we should have left it. Nicholas didn't mind the crib at all, and still hadn't figured out that he really could get out of the pen if he really tried. He and Ethan share a room, so when we put them to bed, we expect the chatting and giggling, but it does settle down and they both go to sleep. That is until last week.

I had the week off work this week b/c of daycare issues (my mom who helps out with the boys when I work is off having a great old time down under - so Ken and I are switching days off to cover off childcare until she and my dad get back). So with me being off this week, we figured that it would be a good time to set up the racing car bed (thanks Ebay!) so that if Nicholas had any issues, (like not sleeping because there is just TOO MUCH TO DO WITH ALL THE FREEDOM) I would be home to deal with it.

And deal with it I have....NO naps this week (except yesterday when Ken was home), and late nights every night because there are books to pile on the bed, drawers to empty and bookcases to explore when you have free reign of the room. Poor Ethan has had to put up with all this too, we hear regular yells from the room of him telling Nicholas to "get back in your racing car bed - I want to sleep".

Here is just a sample of the crap I have had to deal with this week (this is pretty minor, just all the books on his bed and the expression on his face telling mom to take a hike).

Well Holy Crap!

Rick Mercer updated his blog. Mind you I only caught it now, about 20 days late, but it does make me feel a tad better that I didn't let mine sit stagnent for as long as he did (yeah, and like I have the readership he does - thanks to all two of you who regularly check in).

THIS is why I haven't posted lately...

Yup that's right - we are expecting #3. Shocked to say the least was both our reactions when we found out. Apparently as I get older I get more fertile.

I have been super sick with this wee bean - I still haven't gained back the weight I lost in the first month, and I am still having days where I wonder how in the heck I made it through.

I hope to be posting more often as the sickness wears off (does it wear off????) but for those of you wondering where I went - you now know.

Haircuts

Ethan had is first official haircut when he was about a year old. He had to wear a special helmet for a condition called "plagiocephaly", and I figured it was bad enough he had to wear the thing in the middle of summer - so I decided to get his cute little mullet chopped first. We went to a kids haircut place with racing cars for seats and a TV for the kids to watch while getting the lid trimmed. Nothing like a little bob the builder to distract a screaming one-year-old from the wrath of the deadly clippers.

Nicholas on the other hand had his first real haircut last week - at two and a half years old. I have tried a couple of times to neaten his locks, but it was time for the first official chop. I decided to forgo the kiddy place though - too much money ($20 for a two year old) and the last time they cut Ethan's hair they butchered it. BADLY.

The boys loved the salon. My hairdresser, who I have been going to for almost 12 years cut the munchkin's hair for me - and did a wonderful job.





Who needs a TV to look at when I can just look at myself????

Running - a non event.

This year in my aim to lose some weight I took up running. Actually, the running was really an excuse to get away from the kids for a bit each week and have some "me" time. The weight loss would just be a bonus.

I signed up for the sun run training clinics and did the sun run in April. I had never run 10k in my life, so the fact that I did it non-stop was (for me) pretty impressive.

So a group of us got together and decided to train for the Royal Victoria Marathon in October. Actually, we decided to only do the half marathon, I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be ready for a full marathon yet.

Up until about three weeks ago I was training my ass off. Doing quite well too - I hadn't lost any weight, but I felt great. Then the damned thyroid started to go all nuts. It has happened once before, but it took awhile to stabilize. So now, instead of running 15k without even thinking about it, I can barely even climb a flight of stairs without my heart rate going through the roof. It sucks. The one nice side effect is that my internal thermostat is working overtime, which means that the weight is just coming off - AND I AM NOT EVEN DOING ANYTHING. I know as soon as this gets all sorted though the weight will come back on, so the sveltness will be short lived.

Hopefully this will all get sorted out soon. For now the running is on hold as I can barely even keep up with the kids.

MH, this one is for you...

So, after dressing my kid in a rugby jersey, ball cap with the Canucks logo, and a nice pair of vans so that he doesn't look at all like he belongs on a soccer field - I have failed. He loves soccer, much to my distaste. Here is the proof...

Practicing stopping the ball with my foot...


Are you sure this isn't basketball?



Running with the ball (the right way)


Stopping the ball (the not-so-right-way)


He shoots....


HE SCORES!


Of course, big bro can't have all the fun, now can he?

I am now OFFICIALLY a soccer mom.

Today Ethan had his first soccer class. The local community center has soccer classes for boys aged 3-5 for the month of July, one hour/week, $5 per class. What a deal. Mind you, it would have been nice if I actually got to socialize with a couple of friends instead of chasing Nicholas for the hour and giving him lessons on various bugs we found (now there is a good use of my biology degree).

A couple of nights ago I had a bit of a freak out, as Ethan doesn't have appropriate shoes for soccer. He loves being barefoot, but I figured that I should at least make the effort to find something for him to wear so he doesn't stand out like dog's balls in the middle of the field. In the end I decided that he would be ok in his Vans - not quite runners, and definately not soccer cleats, but it would do.

I have never been a big fan of soccer. I have told my best friend on a number of occasions that if either of my sons shows an interest in the game that she can ferry them to practices and games. We live close to a fairly large soccer field, and every year it seems to pour rain whenever there are soccer tournaments. ICK. The idea of standing outside freezing my ass off and getting soaking wet doesn't do it for me. Unfortunately, once my sons find out that they can kick a ball and get filthy dirty all at once it will be game over. Sigh. At least soccer is cheaper than hockey.

So we show up today at the field, and just as I expected, there were some boys all decked out head to toe in soccer gear. Jerseys, shorts and soccer cleats - on THREE YEAR OLDS. At least there were a good number of kids (mine included) that looked like they rolled out of bed and put on whatever was left on the bedroom floor from the night before.

Ethan loved the class. His listening skills need alot of work, but all in all he had a blast. Once he figures out that he doesn't need to tackle the ball to stop it we may have a half decent player on our hands. Oy.

Rockstar....

Last year I was addicted to Rockstar INXS. I couldn't get over all the talent, and this year Rockstar Supernova looks even better. And I find Dave Navarro very sexy in a tattoo covered bad boy sort of way. So not my type, but easy on the eyes.

Rockstar makes American & Canadian Idol look like a second rate 7th grade talent show. I must admit, I can't sing worth crap, and I know that if I ever had the nerve to try out for Canadian Idol, I would be one of those who would be THE WORST of the worst. The Canadian public would never forgive me, thank goodness I am just too old for that kind of stuff.

I am not even going to begin to say who I think would do great on this show. There were a couple of performances tonight that didn't do much for me, but most of them were quite good. I must admit, it is brilliant marketing by Mark Burnett - worked wonders for INXS, I think it will do the same for Supernova.

Long time, no blog.

So this thing called "life" has made blogging a bit more difficult...it seems whenever I get five minutes to myself I just want to turn my brain off. I am too paranoid to blog at work - mind you it isn't like I ever say anything about it or the people I work with - which all in all are a pretty good bunch. That is saying alot for government employees. Ha ha ha.

Actually, I don't think I am a "typical" civil servant. I work my ass off - most days I don't stop to take lunch, although a coffee here and there is a must, hell hath no fury like me without my java. I really do like my job (most days), I guess the best part is that I manage stuff and not people.

I have a great view from my office - if you like to watch people strung out on who only knows what gearing down and showering with a hose in the back alley. Last week we found some people sleeping in our front bushes to the building. There is always something interesting going on in the general vacinity of the workplace.

So not much new with us, same old same old. I am loving this Vancouver weather - lots of sun and nice warm temperatures. The boys love it too - they are spending an obscene amount of time outside playing and just getting filthy and enjoying every second of it.

Cute as the bee's knees...

I know I am a whole lot biased, but he sure is cute!

How to really piss me off....

Key my car from bumper to bumper - just enough for everyone to notice and make me wonder if it really is worth getting re-painted or is this something that I am going to have to live with. ARGH.

I just don't get it...

Young kids just amaze me. The stuff they come up with is fantastic, and even though I have bitched and moaned about Ethan's parent participation preschool, I really enjoy my time in the classroom when the kids get a chance to tell stories or just talk about "stuff". Three year olds come up with the craziest things, and it is all so innocent. I love it.

One of the greatest things about living in Vancouver is the diversity of people that you see every day. There are so many different cultures and ethnicities that the boys are exposed to on a daily basis, and with this comes people who speak with different accents. Honestly, I don't think much of it because it is such a way of life here. The reason I find this all interesting is that my kids seem not to be phased by any of this at all. They don't seem to notice the differences in people - when they meet up with young kids at the park they all manage to get along and figure stuff out even though there are sometimes language barriers. It is great to watch.

A few weeks ago, I took Ethan to my hairdresser's shop for a haircut. I used to take him to the kids hairdresser close to us, but the last few times they have butchered his lid, and I was getting fed up. We went there because they had great cars to drive in and TV to watch while the kids got their hair done. So I told Ethan that we would go to a grown-up shop instead and he would just have to deal with looking at himself in the mirror instead of Dora when he was getting his hair done.

We got to the shop, and the girl that was going to do Ethan's hair was quite young, and covered in piercings, tatoos, and had jet black spikey hair. She was so nice and friendly, and did an awesome job of Ethan's hair. What struck me as odd is that Ethan didn't ask once about her piercings (in her nose, eyebrows, lips and chin) or her tatoos all over her arms and legs. He has never mentioned it at all. I thought it might be something he might ask me about, but it didn't seem to phase him in the least.

Today, we were at the dentist's office when a young boy (about eight) came in. He was bald, and had been undergoing chemo (I heard his mom talking to the receptionist about his treatment). I peeked into the play area where the boys were playing with this young kid, and they were having a blast. Again, Ethan didn't ask at all why this little boy had no hair. He didn't seem to notice the difference.

Ethan has entered the "why" phase - EVERYTHING I say is followed by a "why?". I wonder at what age he will notice differences in people and ask about it.

Road trip

We just got back from a road trip with the boys - we went down to Oregon for a few days for a "holiday". As most people know (or can imagine) a holiday with kids and a holiday without kids are two entirely different things. Before we had kids, we didn't really have to think much about where we went - we just found somewhere interesting, packed a few things and took off. Now planning a trip entails making big lists so we don't forget anything (special blankets, cars, toys, books, cars, cars and cars), booking hotels that have an inclusive breakfast with lots of options (for the second born who is the pickiest eater EVER), local playgrounds, and planning for lots of stops on a long road trip.

We have friends who live just on the Washington/Oregon border, so it was nice to catch up with them. We then went to a "fair" of sorts - it was called "Kids day America". Apparently these are held all over the US.

So we looked at all the different things for the kids, such as spinal health screenings, they had tips for healthy eating habits, fitness & exercise and lots of different saftey things (child ID cards, etc).

Nothing could have prepared me for what we found at one of the tables though. Right next to the Mr Yuck stickers and the pamphlets on bike traffic laws was a container full of FREE GUN LOCKS. Something I have never seen in my sheltered little life, and certainly nothing I would expect to find at a table between the speech therapist and the dentist at this kids fair. But there it was....and what did I do? Pulled out my camera of course.

Update...

First off - I haven't been blogging much. Life has been busy, and to be honest, I haven't really felt like it. I love reading other blogs, and there are those I visit on a daily basis (and I get ticked pretty quickly when I don't see a new blog entry - talk about being a hypocrite...). So for those who have dropped me a line asking where the heck I am - I am still here, but feeling pretty blah about the whole blogging thing.

The boys have been great - Ethan has developed an interest in all things S.E.X and baby related - I think Auntie K who is expecting in a few months may have something to do with it :). Out of nowhere he will ask me about boy parts and girl parts and baby stuff - I can't say I wasn't ready for it, but man, I just want him to be my baby forever and never grow up.

Nicholas has been having his head examined - for fun and a bit of cash. A few months ago, I signed him up for a study looking at social interactions of toddlers. Since I was a science geek back in the day (now you can just drop the "science" part of it), I have always been interested in experiments, especially the ones that don't invlove killing something or the stench of formaldehyde.

This experiment on the whole was fairly simple, and Nicholas' education fund got a bit of an injection. Suffice it to say that my son is one little thinker - I don't think this series of experiments was a pass or fail kind of thing, but if you get points for making the experimenter laugh his butt off, then my kid probably kicked every other toddler's ass. I can't go into any great detail, but the series of experiments basically involved Nicholas interacting with a pimply faced twenty something guy who obviously has not been around children much. He was really nice, but was puzzled at the fact that he couldn't always direct Nicholas to do exactly what he wanted him to do when he wanted it.

One of the experiments involved fish crackers. The tester would show Nicky the cracker, hide it (while Nicholas watched) and then tell him that he couldn't have it until a bell was rung. Nicholas looked at the tester as though he was nuts, lifted the cup where the cracker was hidden and popped it into his mouth. This whole exercise was repeated about four times, each time the tester getting a wee bit more agitated. Finally he told Nicholas that he absolutely couldn't have the cracker until the tester rang the bell (what two year old knows the word "absoultely"?). Nicholas - to his credit - waited....about five seconds, and the he reached over, rang the bell himself and got the cracker. The tester just about wet himself he was laughing so loud. It was a proud, proud moment for mama.

Hubby and I are still plodding along - he has been getting more heavily into the dragonboating thing and a wee bit of golf on the side. My running (or more of a shuffle) is still going - I ran a 10 K race a couple of weeks ago, and am training for a half marathon....haven't decided I am actually going to do it yet, but it sure sounds good to say I am training for it...mind you, while I was running the 10 K I thought to myself NEVER AGAIN. I guess it is kinda like childbirth - you forget the pain. Sort of.

When it doesn't rain...

This is why I love Vancouver....it is just such a beautiful place (even when it rains). I took these pics this past Easter weekend at my folks place - they live on an island just outside of Vancouver.

so much to do, so little time....

When I first started this blog I was pretty good about posting something every day or two. I look now and I am shocked that it has been over a week. It isn't that I don't think of things to blog about, but it just seems like I don't have much time, and all I want to do is crash on the couch at the end of the day. I was thinking of all the things I have to get done in the next week or two and honestly, I am scared to write it all down. Between work, preschool, photography and miscellaneous other stuff, I hardly have time to breathe it seems.

One thing that I did start a few months ago was running. I joined a running clinic with the hopes that I could finish a 10 kilometer run. The big test is next week's Vancouver Sun Run. I have run 10K a couple of times, and suprisingly, didn't collapse at the end. Thank goodness for the running group, there are some days it takes ALL MY ENERGY to get out the front door, especially when it is pissing down rain. There has been talk amongst the group that we may start training for the Victoria half marathon....I think I might give it a try and see what happens. The thought of running 21 kilometers without stopping is a bit daunting though.

I have never been a runner. Years ago I was a swimmer, but I got so burned out that the smell of chlorine almost makes me wretch. The nice thing about swimming is that it is great exercise, and the stress on your body is pretty minimal. I am hoping one day to get back into the pool (maybe join a masters swim team) but right now I am doing the running thing and enjoying it quite a bit.

In the next few weeks I hope to have up some of the photos from the wedding that I did about a month ago...gotta get on that!

Milestone....

I wrote quite awhile ago here about Ethan's little ritual of getting completely naked when he goes to the bathroom to poo (I have no idea why I find it so weird to type "poo". I have no problems with shit, crap, dump, #2, but "poo" just feels funny to type out). Typically, he just announces that he has to do a poo-poo, and proceeds to gear down to nothing (including socks) right where he is standing. It could be the living room, family room, kitchen...you name the place, and he has gotten naked there. In fact, after Christmas dinner this year, he got down from the dinner table, stripped, and streaked through the house to get to the bathroom. At that point I decided that we would work on the whole getting naked thing.

I am pretty damed lucky that he hasn't had to go while at preschool - I explained to the teacher that he gets naked when he poops, and her first question to me was "where did he learn that?". Hmmmmm....I have no idea. I think that she thought that we just all get naked as a matter of course to go to the can in our house. Actually, I am sure that it stems from the time that he got his shirt wet when he was taking a pee - Ethan hates being dirty or messy, and I guess that this memory is etched in his little mind and every time he goes to the can, he wants to make sure he will stay as clean as possible.

So I figured that I would try something this week to get him to go to the bathroom with his clothes on. I had tried in the past to do it in baby steps, leaving his socks on, then his shirt, etc...but that didn't work. We didn't get past the socks. So in despiration I did what all the parenting books tell you not to. I bribed him. With a toy. I told him that if he did a poo poo with all his clothes on, I would buy him a special treat (thank goodness for dollar stores!). It worked. A little too well. No fights, no arguements, no nothing. He trotted off to the can, did his business, and that was it. I was fearful that I would have to buy him special treats every time he took a shit until he was 21. Thank goodness that (at least to this point) it seems as though one small firetruck is all that it took. For now.

Thankful

Making the decision to have a child - it's momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking outside your body.
~Elizabeth Stone~

Today is the second anniversary of Nicholas' heart surgery. He was only three days old. We had no idea when he was born that he had a heart defect, and we were extremely lucky that there were a long list of doctors and nurses who were involved with diagnosing and treating him soon after he was born. Never in my life had I felt so absolutely helpless as I did that first week of my wee baby's life.

Ken and I were so fortunate that we had so much help, love and understanding from family and friends who stepped in at a moment's notice and would have moved the earth and then some if we asked. My mom came and stayed at the house so that Ken and I could go to and from the hospital a few times a day. Poor Ethan had no idea what was going on, but having his grandparents around to help out lessened the stress considerably. My mother-in-law made sure that I ate, and prepared meals for us to take on the way to the hospital.

The emotional support from friends was amazing - one friend in particular who had lost her own child a couple of years earlier and was a wealth of information and support - she was one of the only ones who would truly know what we were going through.

We were fortunate that our wee man's surgery went really well. To look at him today one would never guess that his little ticker isn't 100%. Often when I see him playing outside I forget - he is more active than Ethan ever was, and some days he just doesn't stop. It still floors me that only two years ago I was anxiously awaiting to hear how the surgery went on his little wee heart the size of a walnut and the consistancy of wet tissue paper.

blah blog

Sigh...it has been ages since I have blogged. I honestly thought I could easily keep this up daily, but it isn't turning out that way. I have been so tired lately - work is CRAZY (but I really like my job) and even though I technically only work part-time, it feels like I am working full time. It is great it is so busy, but by the end of the day I am ready to just crash in front of the tube.

I have also taken up running. A long long long time ago I used to be a competitive swimmer. Not that I was ever a serious threat in the pool...I once swam against Victor Davis (a Canadian champ from way back) in an fun race at a swim meet and he KICKED MY ASS. It was all downhill from there. Lots of swimming and coaching over the years has given me a serious case of chlorine burn out, so I have decided to train to run - starting with a 10K race to be held here in Vancouver at the end of April. I am quite impressed with myself - about 2 months ago I could barely run 30 seconds without passing out, and last night I ran 30 minutes. The only thing that has been frustrating as hell is that I haven't lost any weight. I guess I am gaining muscle, but still, I want that scale to scream "skinny" when I step on it.

I also had my first photography gig on the weekend. A friend's wedding in Downtown Vancouver. It went ok, on a scale of 1-10 I give myself about a 7 for the pics. I would love to post some now, but since the bride and groom haven't even seen them yet, I should wait....I'll get them up once they are edited (have I mentioned that I LOVE PHOTOSHOP?).

Those eyelashes

I have no idea where they got them from....but man what I wouldn't give for these...

Proud Mama...

Ethan has been a royal pain in the backside today, grumpy as all hell. I have no idea why, but wow - whoever said two was terrible has not run smack into my three year old. I must admit, for the most part he is pretty good, but it is on days like today that if Ken was to suggest that we try for kiddo number three I'd tell him that I would rather poke myself in the eye with rusty scissors.

Having said all that, Ethan has made me pretty proud this week. First off, we managed after WEEKS of trying to finally get him to blow is nose. This is a huge deal around here. Mind you, it is a very dainty blow, but air is coming out his nose rather than him sniffing, so at this point I'll take what I can get.

Next, I was surfing the Robeez web page and came across this:



Honestly, I thought this picture had wound up on the cutting room floor, so it was a nice surprise to see it on the web page.

But by far the best is the surprise that Ethan gave me last week. We were at the preschool open house and he was pretty busy drawing. Now Ethan never sits still for more than five seconds, so when I wandered over to see what he was doing I was shocked.



This is a picture of our family....needless to say I have framed it because I just love it so much. The funny thing is that Ethan drew his head the roundest of all of us, which is quite ironic seeing as how he had to wear a helmet when he was a baby to round out his noggin!

Two things I said in the last week I totally regret...

Oh it has been a couple of weeks from HELL. Hence the lack of posts.

Last week, one of the moms at preschool said that her son had been throwing up constantly all day. I told her "wow, that must be awful. I haven't ever had to deal with that" (things I said regret #1)

Fast forward a few days and Nicholas is a barfing machine. My poor mom was looking after him, and while I got puked on first thing on my way to work, she had to clean up the rest of it for most of the day. He kept nothing down, not even water. I hate it when they are sick, makes me want to just take it away from them and have it myself so they don't have to go through the misery (things I said regret #2)

So I came home from work early to take him to the doctor (I was concerned he would become dehydrated). We walk into the clinic, and my beautiful, angelic son proceeds to barf over everything. And I mean EVERYTHING. The counter, the floor, my hair, my clothes, all over himself....I am still gobsmacked at the amount of puke that came out of his little wee body. Great timing though I must admit, we got into see the doctor right away.

Turns out he must have had a 24 hour bug, because he is fine now. I on the other hand felt like I had been hit by a truck yesterday, I could hardly get out of bed, and when I did it was to run to the bathroom. OMG it was awful. I haven't been that sick in years, not even when I was pregnant. On the plus side I lost 7 pounds, but I don't recommend the method!

Back to reality...

Ken and I just got back from Hawaii...I didn't realize that I would be missed, but I got a few e-mails from some readers wondering where the heck I was. Funny - my kids couldn't have cared less we were gone!

It was a pretty good trip down, we flew with
Harmony Airways and the service was pretty good, and the food wasn't bad either. Much better than Air Canada - I try to avoid them at all costs if I can. We flew into Honolulu, and after we landed, we had to clear homeland security before we caught a connector to Kauai. Ken was wearing his knee brace (similar to this one) under his pants, and he set every damned alarm off in the joint. He was pulled off to the side, had a wand passed over every inch of his body, and questioned right down to his underwear size. They swabbed his hands, his brace, and for a second, I honestly thought they were going to make him drop his drawers so they could swab his ass. Thankfully they didn't. For all his trouble, he got a cute little sticker.

We make our way to claim our luggage after the knee brace fiasco, we came across a group of guys who were checking the contents of their "luggage" with a gentleman with a clipboard. All we heard was a series of numbers. As we got closer, we could see that their "luggage" was actually these huge, semi-automatic guns. A group of us were keeping our distance, and in complete shock that this was being done about 10 feet from the luggage claim area. You just don't see that in Canada (at least I haven't). I wanted to pull out my camera SO BADLY, but Ken would have wrestled me to the ground if I had tried. After what he had just been through with his knee brace, he wasn't about to find out how they would deal with his shudder happy wife taking pictures of those big black guns. I have a whole new respect for my girlfriend who shot a roll of film in a restricted area when she was in Iran. I wish I had the guts to have snuck a few shots in Hawaii!

That was about the most adventure we had all week - which is just fine by me. We spent quite a bit of time exploring the island, did some kayaking, swimming in the ocean, and seeing a luau. All in all it was a great holiday. My parents are slowly recovering from a week with the kids, and reality has hit both Ken and I square in the face. It hardly feels like we were away!

Pictures to come....

More of what???

I don't think it is too much of a secret that I want more kids - at least on the days where the two I have don't send me close to the edge. They have been really good this past week - which does not bode well for Ken when we head off on vacation (without the kids) in a few days. I really want to try for a little girl (but would be happy with another boy), but Ken is convinced that if we try again, I will have twin boys and we will have to work until we are 80 in order to support FOUR boys. I am not convinced it would be that bad, although I can imagine the grocery bill would be a tad overwhelming when they got older.

One of my co-workers was asking me the other day what our plans were when we were away. I looked at her, and said (straight faced I might add) "I'm going to get knocked up". She just about spat out her coffee in shear and utter shock - and asked me if Ken knew about this. Oh, Ken knows. Every vacation we have taken in the past (with the exception of our honeymoon and a wedding we went to back east last year) I have got pregnant (either that or I was already pregnant on the vacation). So, I figure the odds are pretty much in my favour.

My other aim is to get a nice tan. I am not much of a lie-in-the-sun person, but I sure as hell am a swim-in-the-warm-ocean type of person, so chances are I will be getting a bit of colour. That would be a nice change from my rain induced pasty white complexion at the moment.

Too bad when Ken came home after work he told me that he made a pit stop on the way home....for condoms and sunscreen.

Rain, rain go away...

As I was trying to dodge the rain today I suddenly realized that I don't own an umbrella. I live in VANCOUVER and I have managed to get by for a couple of years now without one.

Yesterday we had a patch of sunshine, and it was beautiful. Even though my window at work overlooks a dumpster in a pretty icky area of the city, that one patch of blue sky and sunshine made even that look beautiful. I love this city - and I don't even mind the rain too much.

A few weeks ago it seemed as though the big man upstairs was screwing with us Vancouverites. Vancouver's longest wet spell began January 6, 1953, and ended 29 days later. We were on track to beat that record a couple of weeks ago. We got to 28 days. Then the sun shone. FOR ONE DAY. Just enough so we couldn't get the record. And then, wouldn't you know it, just to rub it in, it has pretty much been pissing down ever since. Sigh. The kids love it though. We go out for walks and stomp in every single puddle we come across. The one great thing is that when the sun does come out and shine, it is like magic (and no, the cherry blossoms are not out. Yet.).

Whose wee legs are those?

I wrote here awhile ago about a photoshoot that both Nicholas and Ethan were in for a shoe company. Robeez make soft leather shoes for kids, and their head office is just outside of Vancouver. Their catalog and web-page with the new shoes came out today, and Nicholas' wee legs and feet can be seen right here. We'll have to wait and see what happens with Ethan's shots. I suspect that they wound up on the cutting room floor.

Sigh. The things that I find exciting.....I must get out more.

We got a new desk. Now we need a new house.

A few weeks ago, one of my co-workers asked me if I could use a computer desk. He said it was in great condition, but he got a new desk and wanted to find a good home for the one he had been using. Without thinking, I automatically said "sure!".

After I arranged to pick up the desk, I thought long and hard about where the hell we would put it in our house. We already have a computer desk that is wedged in a corner in the boys' play area, and our house is full to the rafters with mostly kids stuff. I can't wait for someone I know to get knocked up so I can get rid of alot of it!

So I pick up the desk, bring it home and leave it in the living room. Ken is looking at me like I have two heads, and I am sure he is wondering what the hell I was thinking. I did think at the time I said "yes" to this desk that it would be great for the boys in a few years. I just didn't think long and hard where it would live until then. While I mulled over where it could fit where it wouldn't stand out like dog's balls, I figured that since we had nowhere to put it, we needed a new house. But since we can't afford a new house (or a very very old one thanks to the Vancouver real-estate market) I decided to leave the desk in the living room and put some plants around it so that maybe it could look like it just blends in.

It isn't only the desk that is a new furniture item in this house. The boys got a great play fort for Christmas, and Ken and I have been trying to think of a place to put that monstrosity. It is really cute, but their play area is so full of stuff, that we had to move some crap from there and put it in the spare room (sorry mom, I guess you are now sleeping out in the shed) to make room for the new fort.

So we spent a good part of our Saturday night (yes, the riveting lives of married folk) putting this thing together.



The boys loved it. That is, until they saw the box it came in. Oh the joys. Lord help us all if we get a new fridge anytime soon!

Tit for tat.

Ethan was looking over my shoulder today and was asking why I didn't post a picture of him...

"mama, where's Ethan? Why isn't he on the computer?"

Well honey, here you go. Boy I wish I could crawl into his little wee brain and see how his little noggin works. I wish I knew what he was thinking when I took this today.

Did I mention he is lucky he is cute?

This is why he gets away with so much and has mommy wrapped around his little finger....



Good thing the internet doesn't smell. That blanket that he chews on just stinks.

Does anyone else think this is gross?

A couple of months ago, Ethan's preschool had a fundraiser in which we had to sell cookie dough. Rather than spend all my time pawning it off on coworkers and friends (aside from those who I KNEW would order some) I figured that I would just buy enough to fill my selling quota (which really wasn't that much). The cookie dough came in lots of flavours, and instead of having it all in a big tub, you can opt to get one ounce pre-formed cookies that you just pop in the oven. How hard can that be? Judging from the tally of what is left in the freezer, and the 12 or so cookies I have baked in the last month, it would appear that it is a HUGE challenge for me to take them out of the freezer and put them on the baking pan without taking a shortcut to my mouth. It seems to me that I have only done this a few times, but when I reached in the the freezer this morning for a once ounce piece of frozen, raw cookie dough heaven, I realized that I have eaten about 30 of the damned things without baking them first.

My husband thinks I am nuts. When he busted me the other day sneaking into the freezer he told me that he thought it was totally gross to eat cookie dough. I told him I thought he was nuts - everyone loves it. Am I right?

O.L.D.

Today I am officially in my mid thirties. I remember years ago thinking that was really, really old. Now that forty is the new twenty, maybe it isn't so bad.

My dad has always had a knack for writing prose, and this is what I got in my birthday card today. I love it.

We feel proud to see that you did survive
To reach the age of thirty and five
And in those years you've accomplished lots
Not the least of which is your two little tots.

From out of school with a big degree
Then back to school at BCIT
Where you learned to become a safety geek
And then develop your own technique.

During that time you met your man Ken
Who made you feel like a silly brood hen
He gave you a ring in a little blue pouch
Which you later misplaced in the back of the couch

Over the years you had Ethan and Nicky
And held down your job which was really tricky
You learned how to mother without a degree
You and Ken became members of the bourgeoisie

Between work and your studies and of course music class
You've had not time to sit on your ass
Just enough time to take photos of course
And get Ken off to dragon boating to prevent a divorce.

Our advice to you dear as you reach thirty five
Is to take time for yourself, to keep you alive
Keep fit and keep smiling should be two of your tricks
A surefire recipie to reach thirty six.

Girls vs. Boys

My boys for the most part are pretty good. But, well...they are BOYS. They love cars, dirt, making a mess and are generally noisy. My girlfriends that have little girls tell me that their daughters also love all these things, and that they too can be equally as loud (I have yet to witness this though).

On Christmas day, we all went to my parent's house. My cousin and his wife were there with their little girl, and I am sure she thought all hell had broken loose and then some when we got there with our sugar filled, sleep deprived, all hyped up on presents kids. While my boys tore up the house, she just stood watching, not quite knowing what to make of it all.




So today in an attempt to "calm" my children I thought I would try getting the boys to try something different - sitting down at the table and colouring (Nicholas) and painting (Ethan). Actually, Ethan loves to paint, but he doesn't do it too much because it takes me about 10 minutes to get it all together, and about two seconds for him to slap something down on paper and say "I'm all done".

This is what resulted when I let Nicky colour...




Check out the teeth marks...



And this is an Ethan work of art that was completed in about two seconds...

Amazing what gets done when you should be studying for an exam...

When I was in University many years ago, I perfected the art of procrastination. I was great at getting stuff done, it just all got done nanoseconds before it had to be handed in. I always marveled at how sparkling clean my house was around exam time, the new gourmet dishes that I came up with because I would spend ages in the kitchen, and how many hair-do's I could come up with so that I wouldn't have to wear a ball cap to all my classes.

A few months ago, In a state of complete and utter stupidity, I signed up for a project management course. One of my girlfriends was stunned - "What the hell are you taking a project management course for? You work, you study, you have kids, if that isn't progect management, I don't know what the hell is. If you fail that will be really, really embarassing."

So now that I should be studying for this exam which is in a week, I am of course procrastinating, and my idea of "procrastination" is getting some laundry done, and trying for the millionth time to find my wedding band that I lost in the couch two years ago. Since I didn't feel like doing laundry the other night, I thought I would have another hunt for the wedding band...

Here's the scoop - almost two years ago, on my birthday, I lost my wedding ring. I was seven months preggo with Nicholas, and to this day, I am gobsmacked at how it was possible for the ring to FALL OFF MY FINGER when the rest of me was bloated to double my normal size (sadly, almost two years after the birth, my normal size is still well and truly hiding somewhere). I was sitting on the couch, lamenting the fact that it had been a horrible birthday and how could it possibly ever get worse. Yeah, did I mention I have a big mouth?

The thing I remember most about that day was that I spent a good portion of it in the emergency room with Ethan. We were in music class, and his teacher was holding his hand trying to get him to "hop". As she yanked up, she dislocated his elbow. I took him to our family doctor who told me to go to the ER and get it x-rayed. "Don't worry" she said, I'll phone ahead and you will be taken care of right away. That was music to my seven-month-pregnant self's ears.

As I found out later it is a really common injury, so common in fact that many doctors will just pop the elbow right back in while the child is in the waiting room. Alas, we got the full meal deal that day, because we had to wait four hours to see the doctor. Now I understand an 18 month old in the ER with a simple elbow out of joint is so not a priority, but hell, it took him about two seconds to pop that sucker back in. He was shocked that the family doctor didn't do it and that she sent me all the way to the hospital. Oh it was a long, long day.

The couch that I lost the ring in is a nice one. Too nice to just tear apart, but not quite nice enough that I could get away with strategically slicing it in a few placed for a good hunt around. So I turned the couch over, poked and prodded, and then lifted up the end...and I heard a "clink". On the hardwood floor. OMG there was the ring. Amazing. An early 35th birthday present to me.

Now I have to hit the books...again.