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.