Ralphie...The final Chapter Until Next Year

If I am being honest, I am a little relieved that our Elf on a Shelf duties are over for the year. Overall, I think we came up with some pretty creative ideas and even if we didn't, Joshua was always surprised with the silly things that Ralphie did.

This morning was kind of fun because the Grinch trapped Ralphie in the popcorn maker. Joshua wasn't too sure about the Grinch but Grayson loved that his heart grew three sizes!

What preschooler (I can't believe Joshua is a preschooler) wouldn't love an elf who fishes with a candy cane? We probably should have thought this one through a bit more because all Joshua wanted to do for the day was go fishing. It is far too cold to sit outside and fish.

This one was a little last minute. It was late (and by late I mean around midnight and we rarely see past 10:30pm) and we had a small get together at our house because family from out of town was visiting. Earlier that day Joshua had wanted to put on tattoos so what did Ralphie happen to bring him? Tattooos! The tattoos have already been applied because I was a little late with the photo.

And this one...Chris had fun writing on the mirror but me on the other hand struggled to get it off.

Ralphie reading to the Christmas decorations is one of my favourites. It's cute, simple, and Joshua thought it was sweet. And Ralphie is reading one of my favourite childhood books (I love reading the boys books that Chris and I used to read when we were kids).

I was not creative with this one at all. Chris was at a hockey party and I was left in charge.

And finally, Ralphie brought the boys Christmas ornaments on Christmas Eve, which I completely forgot to get a picture of. Joshua loved his Marshall Paw Patrol ornament and Grayson got a reindeer that says "Little Stinker" on it because that is exactly what he is.

Elf on a Shelf was a hit this year and Joshua was so cute when he gave Ralphie a hug good bye (the only time he's been allowed to touch Ralphie) and then gently put him back under the tree for Santa to pick up. I'm sure next year I'll be just as excited to start Elf on a Shelf as I was this year, but for now, I'm relieved it is over.

That Damned Elf

Okay, in theory, this Elf on a Shelf thing seemed like a great idea. Oh ya, we will have so much fun getting this elf to do different things each night and the boys will love it. Let me be the first to say that I completely understand why elves come down with a bad flu or break a leg and can’t move for a week or just completely disappear because the parents have had enough of the stupid thing.

Once you start though, you can’t stop. It’s like a trap. When you buy the elf the cashiers are full of smiles and tell you how much fun you will have moving the elf each night and how there are so many neat ideas out in there for your elf to do, meanwhile, they are secretly laughing at you and what they really want to say is “do you know what you are getting yourself into?” Well, no, I didn’t, but because the stupid elf puts a smile on my kids’ faces I will continue to move the damned elf each night.

This one was a rather clever one. The night before Joshua was refusing to eat his dinner. Didn’t want, it wasn’t any good, didn’t like it. So after bath we told him it was bedtime because he didn’t eat. Well, let me tell you how appealing dinner was at that point. He cleared his plate and all was well again in our house. But Santa saw that our struggle was real and left a note for him, and Grayson, the next morning.

We were so over the elf this night lost our creativity and Ralphie just drew funny faces on our fruit. And to my surprise, it was a big hit with Joshua.

Joshua also thought it was funny when he discovered Ralphie hanging upside down in the laundry with some of Grayson’s diapers. He was pretty happy that Ralphie was helping me with the laundry.

Raphie didn’t make breakfast this morning, but he did grab a quick snack for the boys to have…close enough.

Ralphie surprised the boys the next morning with letters from Santa. Joshua loved his letter and is thrilled that he is on the nice list for now. On second thought, maybe Ralphie should have waited until right before Christmas to bring those letters.

Next, Ralphie ended up in the stocking. I had a ladies’ evening out and was home late so this was as good as it was getting.

Here, Ralphie has made a zip line and swinging along on an ornament.

And finally, Ralphie decided to take it easy and help me with my crocheting. He sure made a mess of my ball of yarn, but I can’t complain because Joshua was delighted when he saw Ralphie helping me finish part of Grandma’s gift. 

Ralphie Part II

I think our Elf may be broken. He is full of shenanigans...I know think Santa missed the memo when we asked for an Elf that did laundry, cleaned the house, made breakfast, and tidied the kitchen.

Instead, we caught Ralphie shaving in the bathroom, which wouldn’t have been a problem except for the mess he made. If Santa brings Joshua a shaving kit for Christmas I sure hope he takes his pointers from Chris and not his Elf.

Ralphie also TP’ed our master bedroom. When Joshua saw the mess he exclaimed “Ralphie make Joshua sad.” Joshua thought his Elf had made a mess that he would have to clean up (not a 3 year old’s favourite chore) but we quickly assured him that Ralphie would be cleaning up his mess before he left for the North Pole.

Along his way to the North Pole, Ralphie must have caught a small cold thank goodness. Joshua found him sleeping in a tissue box in his bathroom.

The next morning, Ralphie was back to his old tricks. Joshua was delighted when he saw Ralphie hanging in front of his door. He quickly told us that Ralphie had been kicking his door.

I love the imagination that Joshua has. His imagination gives me a completely new view on the world and I love enjoying it through his eyes! 

Ralphie

There are some exciting things happening in our house right now…like how every morning an elf, named Ralphie, magically appears to Joshua’s surprise and delight.

I’m not 100% sure where Santa found this elf but he is full of shenanigans. At first glance, he appeared to be a mild mannered elf who was just sent to keep an eye on the boys and report back to Santa, but oh no, he had us fooled! On day 2 he was already up to no good snatching the chocolate syrup and drinking straight from the bottle. Joshua was not too happy about this. When he saw Ralphie was drinking all of his chocolate milk, he firmly (by firmly I mean in a voice just above a whisper without any anger in his voice at all) told us in his 3 year old way “Ralphie get Joshua angry.” At this point I couldn’t help but smile and be so proud of him for expressing his emotions through his words and not through actions. His anger quickly turned to happiness when he realized that Ralphie had already made him a glass of chocolate milk…phew!!

Yesterday, I was not 100% sure what sort of trouble Ralphie ran into on his way to and from the North Pole but he made a mess trying to get all of his boo boos taken care of. Joshua seemed concerned about the number of bandaids Ralphie required but we assured him that Ralphie was okay and on his way to feeling better.

As for this morning, well, I don't really know how to explain this morning. All I can say is our Christmas tree has a few extra ornaments on it that we did not add.

I wonder what surprise will be in store for us tomorrow!

Oh, Christmas Tree

Setting up the Christmas tree is something I always look forward to. It always gets me in the Christmas spirit and it makes the house so cozy. This year, Chris and I were going to buy a real tree (his idea), something I’ve never had before. That idea flew out the window when I realized a) you can’t just set your tree up in November without it making a mess of your house and not looking so great by Christmas, b) there’s the potential for rodents and bugs and other forest creatures to be hiding in your tree waiting to cozy up by the fireplace in your house and c) they are more of a fire hazard if not properly taken care of. So needless to say, we decided to buy a fake tree so I could enjoy it a little longer.

I have to say, our Christmas tree is beautiful. I love that it has ornaments on it from when I was a child and when Chris was a child and now it has our children’s ornaments on it as well. Our Christmas tree really is a family tree and I love snuggling up in front of it on cold snowy nights. I also love watching the boys with the Christmas tree. Joshua is still just as fascinated by the tree as he was when he was only a year and a half old and Grayson, well, he is Grayson. He makes it his mission to pull ornaments off the tree any chance he gets (which is why we replaced all of our glass balls with plastic ones). 

Fluffy Bum

The words cloth and diapers get thrown around a lot in our house and that’s because we cloth diaper Grayson. Grayson wasn’t always cloth diapered but a few months ago, we decided to start. I already had an entire stash of diapers purchased for Joshua (that I used on and off with him) so it was just a matter of washing them, prepping them, and using them. I was pleasantly surprised when I realized that cloth diapering Grayson seemed so much easier than cloth diapering Joshua…and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s because I had previous experience, or maybe because they just fit Grayson better, but this is the longest consecutive stretch I have gone with cloth diapering…I normally need a break after a month.

It’s been 5 months now since we started and my only complaint has been finding a wash routine that works with the washing machine in our new house. I have a hate-on for our washing machine and I desperately want a new one…one that is bigger and works better. So finding a wash routine was tricky and it took me over a month…Chris was the lucky one who heard the blunt of my complaining (and I still occasionally complain and day dream of the day we get to go buy a new one).

Hopefully this wash routine continues to work for us. My only worry is that since I have to use quite a large amount of detergent for the machine to clean properly that I’ll have to end up stripping my diapers because of detergent build up. Only time will tell.  

As it sits right now, I am happy with cloth diapering and love having a fluffy bum in our house! 

It's Pumpkin Time!

This past weekend, we decided to carve our pumpkin. We had taken the boys to a pumpkin patch on Thanksgiving where we picked out two pumpkins, one large pumpkin for carving and one smaller pumpkin that Joshua picked out. Last year, Chris and I were a bit excited about carving pumpkins and carved them a bit too early (I’m talking beginning of October early) so our pumpkins barely made it to Halloween (and by barely, I mean we should have gotten rid of them the week before Halloween).

So this year, we were patient.

On Saturday evening, we brought the pumpkin inside, washed off the dirt, and got to cutting it open. I started cutting the pumpkin open and apparently looked like I had the ability to lose a finger doing so, so Chris finished it for me (luckily, I was trusted to carve the pumpkin). Joshua was so excited about the process of cleaning out the pumpkin. A few times he turned to me with pumpkin “guts” in his hand and said “ewww, disgusting on Joshua’s hand.” I had so much fun watching his enjoyment of cleaning the pumpkin and he did an awesome job. Finally I got to carving the pumpkin and below is our end result of our family pumpkin! 

A Kelsey Emergency

I’m going to start off this post by saying that I have an Ileostomy. I’ve had an ileostomy since I was 17 and it saved my life. Having an ileostomy has been a great thing for me, but with it can come some serious complications. Illnesses that just cause others to feel under the weather, like a common cold or stomach bug, can knock me right off my feet.

And that brings me to yesterday. I must have ate something that my stomach didn’t agree with or picked up a stomach bug, but Thursday early morning, I was so sick. My ileostomy started to act up, I was nauseous, and even the thought of having a drink made my stomach turn. I woke Chris up at 4:30 and this is how our conversation went:

Me: I don’t feel good.

Chris: What’s wrong?

Me: I don’t feel good and I feel dehydrated.

Chris: Do you want some water?

Me: No.

Chris: Do you want some Tylenol?

Me: No.

Chris: What do you need?

Me: Nothing.

Chris: Do you want to cuddle?

Me: No…I feel like throwing up.

I had a very restless night and managed to get some sleep between 5:30 and 6:30, before my alarm went off. I got up, determined that I was okay and could go to work. That lasted all of 5 minutes before I crawled back into bed. My energy was depleted. Thankfully, I have an amazing support team. Chris wrangled up the boys, got them ready, and made them breakfast. Then my mom came and picked them up to take them to daycare (which she does not want to do again since the boys were so upset when she dropped them off). At around 9:30, I realized I needed help. I couldn’t catch up on my fluids, my heart felt like it was beating out of my chest, I had leg cramps, and struggled to breathe. I called Chris, who left work to pick me up and take me to the hospital. When we got there and I saw the wait time was 4-5 hours, I wanted to turn around and walk right back out, but I felt too sick. So I went back to triage where they took my vitals and immediately hooked me up to an IV (having a resting heartrate of 140bpm is alarming). I was able to wait in triage, instead of the waiting room, for a bed to become available, and luckily it only took about 20 minutes. The entire time, Chris made sure I was comfortable and made light of being stuck in the hospital. On a side note: I don’t think Chris has a career as a doctor in his future.

After having 2 litres of fluid pumped into me, I was given the okay to go home, rest, and drink lots of fluids. That evening, the bowl of soup I had managed to eat gave me terrible indigestion and made for a long evening of very stinky burps (haha, so attractive on my part). I was so exhausted that Chris and I went to bed at 8:30.

As of this morning, I am feeling much better and hydrated. I am so thankful for my wonderful boyfriend who has officially experienced his first “Kelsey emergency.” 

Thanksgiving Weekend

I have so many reasons to be thankful (every single day), the main reason is my family. I will never be able to say it enough or explain how truly blessed I feel to have two amazing boys who call me mommy and an adoring boyfriend, who makes me feel like I am his entire world.

This Thanksgiving weekend was full of family, fun, and lots of turkey. We spent Saturday at the farm with Chris’ family (where all Joshua wanted to do was bowl and Grayson played shy and just wanted mama snuggles) and Sunday out of town with more of Chris’ family (where Joshua spent the entire day running around with the other kids and Grayson spent a quiet day with my parents). And Monday we spent with my family, where pork roast was highly anticipated after eating turkey all weekend. And since we were all cheering for the Jays to pull off another win and take it to game 5, we ate our dessert in front of the TV (dinner was periodically interrupted to sneak a peak at the score).

On Monday, we also took the boys out to a pumpkin patch to pick out pumpkins, a tradition that we started last year. We picked out a big one to carve and a small one because Joshua was set on having a small pumpkin. We also picked up 4 mini pumpkins to decorate since we had cornstalks to put up on our front porch. So now, our house is officially decorated for fall (something we weren’t going to do but somehow, cornstalks ended up in our garage while we were out). All that is left to do is carve the pumpkin.

Late Night Thief

It's 11:30 p.m. and I am woken up from a sound sleep. I can hear Joshua yelling for me in tears. He sounds panicked and I feel like I can't get to him fast enough. There he is, crying hysterically in his bed, barely able to catch his breath. And here I am, not sure what's wrong and barely able to function in my drowsiness. So I do what seems most natural, I cuddle him up in my arms and tell him everything is okay and that mommy is here. After about 10 minutes, Joshua has calmed down to the point of only sniffles and I am able to sneak out of his room and get back to sleep. 

It is now 3:30 a.m. and I slowly wake up to what I think is crying...was that part of my dream or is something wrong? Something is wrong, Joshua is crying hysterically again. I hate seeing my baby like this, something must be wrong. Is he having nightmares, was there a storm that I missed, what is wrong? I cuddle Joshua up in my arms and ask him what is wrong, and his response? “My cup!! My cup!!!”

Back up to 9:00 p.m., Chris and I always check on the boys before we go to bed. Joshua normally goes to bed with a sippy cup of water (with an ice cube, as per his request) but last night he wanted milk. I didn’t want him to drink any of the milk that was left in the morning, so I took his sippy cup. Now, what I should have done was replaced it with another sippy cup of water, but how is a mom to know?

Fast forward back to 3:30 a.m. and this mama can save the night! I quickly race to the bathroom (where I know he has left a sippy cup of water…he leaves them all over the house) and bring it back to him. TaaDaa! Here you go buddy, here’s a sippy cup. He quickly stops crying and happily grabs his cup and snuggles into bed with it, closes his eyes, and drifts back to sleep .

And this mama is able to crawl back into bed and stare at the ceiling because she is now wide awake.

I’ll have to make sure this evening the sippy cup thief doesn’t strike again! 

The Sweet Sound of Laughter

Have you ever heard a noise that grabs your attention the second you hear it? A noise that stops you in your tracks no matter what you are doing? A noise that draws you to it? A noise that completely melts your heart?

That noise for me is the sound of Joshua and Grayson’s laughter. No matter what I am doing, it will halt me in my tracks and I just have to go see what is making the two of them so incredibly happy.

Last night, I was cleaning up after dinner when I heard the loud laughter coming from the bathroom. Joshua and Grayson were laughing hysterically and I wondered what they were laughing about because I wanted to join in on this fun too. So I sneaked upstairs and peaked my head around the bathroom door, and I saw Chris scooping up the bathtub bubbles and blowing them out of his hand and it had our two boys in hysterical laughter. Joshua was also scooping up the bubbles for Chris to blow and Grayson sat and watched patiently, his laughter beginning as soon as he saw the bubbles in Joshua’s hands.

Their laughter melts my heart and these sweet moments make the most precious memories.

Elf on a Shelf

This Christmas season, Chris and I have decided that we want to buy Joshua and Grayson an Elf on the Shelf. It looks like fun and Joshua is at an age now where he will understand and remember that he has to go hunting for an elf each morning.  Part of me thinks this game is more for the parents than it is the kids…I’m probably going to be more excited about hiding this elf than Joshua is going to be finding it.

Naming an elf is serious business in our house. We don’t want to just pick any name because this name is going to stick with this elf which means we are going to have to like it for the next 10+ years. The elf needs to have a Christmas themed name, one that is witty and makes sense (at least to us). I know some families would have their children pick the elf’s name, but when you have a 3 year old who is obsessed with certain cartoons and also likes to name things what they actually are, we would either end up with an elf named Gru or an elf named Elf.

So Chris and I have taken matters into our own hands. We don’t even own this elf yet, but here we are, being the dedicated parents that we are, trying to come up with an appropriate name for this thing. And of all the possible names there are for this, I think it’s going to be named Ralphie. And let me just say, I cannot stand the Christmas movie that we have taken the name from, but Chris on the other hand loves it. And I’m sure this year and every year to come, just like last year, he’ll come to me with his boyish good looks and charm and ask me to watch it with him because he knows I can’t say no. 

The Small Moments

Life is busy, it has always been busy, but I never knew how busy it could get. This busyness thing is a real thing, it’s not just something I say or make up or joke about. It’s not always easy to balance schedules and work and daycare and meals and kids and anything else that just happens to pop up, but for the most part, I think Chris and I do a fairly good job of keeping everything running smoothly like a fine tuned machine.

But sometimes, just sometimes, something slips and we end up with 3 bags of milk open, more specifically, 3 bags of 3.25% milk that only Grayson drinks, or a wallet gets left in a pant pocket and washed, or a banana bread loaf gets left in the oven and is hard as a brick by the time the burnt banana smell is noticed wafting around the house, or a washing machine is cleaned and the filter isn’t properly secured and water is running into the basement.

It’s these things that happen in the busyness of life that make for funny stories later on. Normally I don’t find these situations amusing while they are happening, like when I drink Grayson’s milk wondering why it tastes so thick and wonder how Chris just managed to drink a whole glass and not mention it. Or when Chris just looks at me and says nothing (he doesn’t need to because his eyes were saying it all) when I pull my banana bread out of the oven that was under cooked before I forgot about it. It’s these moments that we can look back on and laugh about. These moments remind me that life can’t be taken too seriously and we need to have fun, laugh, and enjoy every moment.

As I once read somewhere: life’s short, smile while you still have teeth. 

Sh*t My Boyfriend Says

I thought I would write a post about some of the things Chris says. Keep in mind, I love this man dearly so this post, and any follow up posts, are done purely out of love.

Chris has the ability to send me into giggling fits from his quick come backs and smart remarks, but sometimes I am left with a smirk on my face, rolling my eyes, and thinking to myself “he’s all mine” (and truth be told, I wouldn’t have it any other way).

My response to one of his comments:

Me: You are such smart a**

Chris: Would you rather me be a dumb a**?

Me: Smart a**!!!!

Before going camping:

Me: Ugh!  Aunt Flow just showed up

Chris: Oh great, now you’re going to attract bears

(This was one of those eye roll incidents)

After my birthday:

Trying to find something to watch while flipping through the guide

Me: I can’t see the channels

Chris: That’s because you’re a year older now

3:30am, Chris just got back into bed

Chris: Joshua was just talking

Me: Oh, I didn’t hear him

Chris: That’s because you’re older now

Camping in Algonquin Park

This past weekend, Chris, the boys, and I went on a mini family vacation with his parents and sister. We went up to Algonquin to go camping. I love vacations, even if they are only for a weekend, but what I don’t like is packing. Back in the day when I just had to pack for myself, it was easy, but add in two small kids and one large kid and packing becomes a nightmare well organized mission. When I got home Thursday evening, my mission began, Mission: Let’s Pack Up This Gang and Bake a Dessert. Mission completed in 2.5 hours…bring on the gold star!

Friday morning was Chris’ turn to shine…I normally do the packing of suitcases and things we need to bring while he normally takes care of fitting everything into the van. He must be pretty good at puzzles because I do not pack lightly yet he can get everything to fit. Our road trip down to Algonquin was smooth. We stopped for Starbucks (pumpkin spiced lattes are such a treat!) and we were on our way again. Then, it happened, motion sickness hit me like a rock. I felt so sick and I was panicked…I thought for sure I was going to throw up. I took some medication and sat as still as I could. Nothing was helping. I just needed to wait, and wait, and wait. It finally subsided and I was a happy camper again.

We made a pit stop at a Trading Post where I bought a pair of Moccasins. I’m only making note of this because I was so excited! I had a pair when I was younger that I bought while my family and I were on vacation up north. Unfortunately, that pair met it’s match when my dog thought they were a chew toy. I always said I would buy a new pair if I ever saw them again, and Friday was the day.

By the time we got to our campsite in Algonquin Park and the trailer set up, it was time for dinner. We made these pizza sandwich things over our fire…they were delicious and a lot of fun to make. Although by this point, Chris was hungry and growing a bit hangry. We put the boys to bed and both boys slept well the first night in the trailer, which I was worried about…not so much Joshua, but Grayson because he isn’t the heaviest of sleepers but they both did great and I think everyone enjoyed waking up to Grayson’s babbling.

On Saturday, we spent the day walking trails and canoeing. We walked the Track and Tower Trail and the Lookout Trail. Both were beautiful. Chris, his sister, and I did the Track and Tower Trail while his parents watched the boys for us. We brought along a bear bell so Chris and his sister could shut me up about being attacked by a bear to be on the save side. Afterwards, the 3 of us went out on a canoe with Joshua who seemed a tad bit terrified to be out on a boat again (and I don’t blame him after his incident on the paddle boat when he fell into the lake). It was my first time canoeing as well so every little tilt of the canoe had me in a fit. I was paddling at the front with Chris steering in the back and I can only imagine the self-control he had to muster up to keep from getting frustrated (I can’t imagine I would want to be canoeing with someone like me either who had no idea that shifting her bum because it was numb would completely tilt the whole canoe). Next, it was time for the Lookout Trail. This is a trail we all did, including the boys. I was looking forward to it. I knew the views from the top would be beautiful, but I had no idea how steep the trail was. Chris was pushing Grayson up in the stroller and Joshua was being adventurous and was walking up with us. Well, after the first steep hill, Joshua had had enough, he wanted in the stroller…smart kid because if I had the option, I would have done the same! It was well worth all the effort of getting that stroller to the top because the views were breathtaking. God’s beautiful creation as far as the eye could see. A lot of the trees had not turned to their fall colours yet, but there were still some trees in vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows. On our way back down the trail, this was the conversation Joshua and I had:

Me: Joshua, what are we doing?

Joshua: Going on a bear hunt!

Me: Are we going to catch a big one?

Joshua: YAH!

Me: And what are we going to name him?

Joshua: Big One!

Camping with little ones is a lot of fun. Joshua was busy riding his bike, canoeing, feeding chipmunks, roasting marsh mellows, and exploring the trails. Joshua was also pretty excited that we got to sleep in a trailer. Grayson spent quite a bit of time outside on his bike, crawling in the dirt, and exploring the trails, but Grayson also enjoyed just relaxing. I enjoyed spending time with our family…it is vacations like this that I love because we are able to spend quality time with one another. 

Birthday!

I am another year older, but I feel the same. My 26^th birthday was yesterday and I had a great day…it was less dramatic than my “cry in a parking lot because my key fob won’t work” day.

My day started off with a birthday kiss from Chris and a super cute Joshua.  When I went into his room, he was sitting on his bed. This is how our conversation went:

Me: Joshua, do you know who’s birthday it is today?

Joshua: Yes…

Me: It’s mama’s birthday!

Joshua: Happy birthday mama! (he opened up his arms and gave me a big birthday hug…he can just be the cutest kid when he isn’t busy tearing apart the house)

And then there was Grayson who was just happy to see anyone who would let him out of his crib.

I had balloons and beautiful flowers at work (my desk is still decorated…I’m going with a birthday week over here). My mom called to wish me a Happy Birthday. The entire time I’m thinking to myself “geez mom, you’ve dropped the ball on this one…where are my birthday cupcakes you always bring me?!” She was being sneaky and my dad brought them to my office later that day…hopefully she knows that she has started a tradition and I do expect them every year!

Once I got home with the boys, Chris snuck upstairs with Joshua while I got Grayson situated in his highchair and the birthday cupcakes ready to be devoured eaten. Then, I see Joshua coming down the stairs with a card in one hand and a Pandora bag in the other. He looked so cute and he was so proud when he handed me my card and said “birthday card mama!” We sat around the table all enjoying cupcakes and ice cream pizza (a tradition Chris started on my 25^th birthday).

Once the boys were in bed, I was able to have a glass of wine and girl talk with my girlfriend. We sat outside and sipped our wine while combating the mosquitos and got all caught up on life.

Finally, Chris and I had a pizza date. I love pizza dates…they are probably one of my favourite kind of dates. Pizza dates consist of ordering pizza once the boys have gone to bed (parents of the year award over here) and eating it in bed while watching TV. It’s my favourite because it’s comfy, cozy, and it’s just the two of us.

I had a wonderful birthday and was spoiled by my 3 favourite men! Love them!!

The Lady Crying in the Parking Lot is NOT Crazy

The amount of panic that comes to me at the mere thought of anything happening to my children is overwhelming.

Let me start from the beginning…

For the past month now I’ve thought that the battery in my key fob for my van was going to quite at any time. And yesterday was the day. I have a pretty tight schedule at the end of the day. I only have half an hour to get through the city to pick them up from daycare before it closes. So yesterday, after work, when I went to unlock my van, I shouldn’t have been too surprised that it did nothing. There were no flashing lights to let me know it had unlocked, no automatic doors opening, no nothing. There was silence, maybe some mumbling of "why won't you just work?!", and sudden worry creeping up inside of me. So I called my mom because she has car seats in her car and would be able to pick up the boys while I walked over to the store kicking myself for not getting a battery earlier. Well, when she wasn’t home and I couldn’t get a hold of her, panic started to set it. I called Chris and I’m surprised he even understood a single word that I was saying. I’m not even 100% sure I was speaking English, but I know I was crying, panicked, and standing in the middle of a parking lot.

Well, wouldn’t you know it, you can still use your key even if your key fob isn’t working and it won’t set off any alarms and your vehicle won’t spontaneously combust, and you can calmly get into your vehicle, get yourself together, and be on your to get your babies.

I felt so much relief once I had my babies with me. I was so worried about them and not being able to get to them.

When I got home, Chris was waiting for me with a hug and smirk on his face…yes dear, I am fully aware that sometimes I am a basket case. 

Fun With the Family

Date nights in our house without the boys are few and far between. So Friday night, when we had the chance to sneak out for a few hours and go to a hockey game, we jumped on it! It was nice to go out and spend the time just the two of us. I may take a little longer than Chris to get ready (it seems I am always running around last minute doing 101 things that just need to get done that second by the end of the weekend) but at least I am prepared and didn’t go to a hockey arena, where there is a sheet of ice that needs to remain frozen, in only a t-shirt. When we got home after the game, we were not surprised to see Joshua still up with Gramma. Apparently Grammas just think they can get away with anything…well, next time, we are shipping him over to Gramma’s house the next day when he is cranky as cranky can be.

Saturday mornings, Joshua has bowling. He tends to go in stages as to how he is going to behave while we are there. He starts off wanting to bowl and listening so well, then he wants to do his own thing and he needs to be bribed with candy (yes, I always said I would never bribe my child…clearly that was said out of a lack of experience and I am now well aware that I was fooling no one back then).

That evening, we took Grayson to the fair where he got to go on his first fair rides! I took him on a bumble bee ride that went in a circle and up and down. He got a bit impatient waiting for the ride to begin, but he seemed to enjoy the ride. Next, he want on the carousel with Chris…the ride took a bit to start so by the end, it was Daddy and Grayson standing there, going around in a circle…they both looked so thrilled. It was well past Grayson’s bedtime by the time we got to the Agricultural Area at the fair. There was a fawn coloured cow that was just lying there chewing on hay. Grayson seemed to love the cow. He got so excited, started smiling, kicking, and pointing at this cow. Yes buddy, I see the cow, it’s massive. I love how excited he gets for things…nothing makes me happier than to see my babies happy.

Then, there was yesterday, also known as Football Sunday. With the boys in bed, the house was quiet…almost too quiet. That’s because it wasn’t just Football Sunday, Chris had to pick his team for his fantasy hockey league.  So I spent the evening lounging in bed with a good book and the TV.

How Complicated Can Little Humans Be?

Is it just me, or do toddlers really act like drunk adults? Only listening when they want to, complaining about the most trivial thing, falling down and throwing fits when you don't do what they want, and the list could go on and on. These little humans seem so complex...like seriously kid, you like bowling, you like the children you bowl with, so why must you insist on throwing yourself backwards and whining just because you don't want to bowl at that second and then two minutes late throw a fit because it's not your turn to bowl.

These small humans baffle me. Just when you think you have them figured out, you realize that you really know nothing.

Storm Clouds

I am not a morning person at all, I’m far from it. I need the time to myself to gather my thoughts and get my days started. And since it’s socially unacceptable to have a glass of wine in the mornings, I also need my morning cup of coffee.

Chris knows I am not a morning person. He learned this long ago. He will point above my head in the mornings and make thunder noises to imitate a storm cloud (hahaha, he is just so funny). My mood this morning went something along the lines of this: “No, I do not want you to cuddle me if your arm is going to be under my pillow and getting in the way of my overall comfy-ness” and “no, I do not want to share my body pillow, this is not up for discussion” and “do you even know what time it is? Get out of bed!”  So with that being said, he was walking a pretty thin line when he woke up this morning and proceeded to tell me how much of a pest he was last night. He recorded me snoring, which in my opinion, sounded like a soothing melody. He then told me that I had kept him up late last night. Hmmm, I don’t think I should be blamed for this. I would like to formally place the blame on his 9:00pm hockey game…he came home wired (I’m actually quite surprised the soothing sound of my soft snoring didn’t lull him to sleep…I thought I was doing him a favour).  

And even when I am walking around with a storm cloud above my head and a scowl on my face, he always knows how to bring out that sunshine. Even though he was running late for work this morning, he still took the time to get Grayson’s milk and breakfast ready and get Joshua ready for his breakfast. He still had time to set me out some leftovers for lunch. And he always has time to tell us how much he loves us before he leaves for work. I have no complaints, I’m a very lucky girl!