Halloween or H1N1, which is scarier???

..that is the question, apparently.. I guess it would be silly not to point out the whole healthcare fiasco of late or at the least, give it mention. Suffice it to say, this whole immunization against the swine flu has been a complete keystone cops routine and unbelievably poorly organized by our healthcare system - 5 hour waits, wristband entries and public protests are just a few of the sad lowlights. On a happy note, the girls have both been 'shot' and are nursing owie arms. I'm not sure when we will go get ours, hopefully the vaccine jar will once again be flush in a few weeks and the mass hysteria will have died down and then we'll get'er done..

In other news..
For Halloween, I was a mechanic, Kyra was a witch (last year's costume still fit! yay!) and Noelle was a featherless chicken (she didn't want to wear the poke-y feathers).. The bootie was great and is currently residing atop an innocent cupboard, nicely forgotten.. oo, did someone say 'snack time??'

What to do, what to do...

SNOW is definitely part of Canada's Food Guide..it is at our house.

Don't worry, she only ate the white snow...and lots of it! It took until 'blue lip' stage to get her in the house. Good thing she likes the stuff, I have a feeling we'll be seeing quite a bit of it this winter.

The Last of the Summer Mud

..reason number 29 as to why I do LOTS of laundry.. this was taken an hour before bedtime .....and minutes before bathtime..

Back in Time

Officially, we've begun our slow climb into good health once again...and to celebrate such good fortune (being alive, that is) we took the girls to Heritage Park. Yes, it is a 'trip back in time' but it really brings us both back to when we were kids going to Heritage Park or riding the bike path by, around and across from it. Nothing but great memories I think and today was no exception - the sky crystal clear and the crowds, far apart from each other. Kyra guided us through the park deeming herself 'Chief Map Engineer' (she's BIG on maps these days) and we hit all the great spots with trains, chickens, weird looking stoves (Kyra couldn't identify the stove in the old kitchens) and the arts & crafts display. Oh, and let's not forget petting the bunny bums (the non-bitey end) or the work horses and enjoying a grassy picnic by the fountain..sigh. I'm also pretty sure Noelle enjoyed picking up Poplar tree leaves & trying to feed the hens with them AND getting free candy from the Bank..

Lunch time!

This one looks just like the one in our garage!!

Hen Teasing 101

Playing with the Fountain

Gasoline Alley (beautifully restored classics) - no Model T's tho'...hmm

Below is a tribute from the HandCrafter's Guild to Audrey (our neighbour), who died August 25th suddenly and saddened us all. We have many of these fine tatted articles in our own home, gifted by her - she did beautiful work!

Summertime Memories

So here we are, it's August - the nights are cooling down, the vegetables are ripening up and I'm scouring the internet for deals on snowsuits already... One cannot be too prepared when September is around the corner! And besides, if I don't get started now, the procrastination gene will kick in and voila! Winter will be here and I'll have missed every possible snowsuit that might have fit my kids and I'll have to buy something leaky, cold and ill-fitting.. (well, that's my neuroses anyhoo)... Luckily, I also have the 'preparedness' gene (from my mother's side of the family, I think) and it can often cancel out the procrastinator gene if given the right environment.

I digress.. Today I thought I'd jot a few more good memories down of our summer thus far. We've had plenty of water, waterparks, swimming holes and lakes to keep everyone waterlogged and towels loading the washing machine. Oddly enough I don't remember that many days of sunshine but they must have been there cuz Noelle's suit is actually wearing through in the butt.. Also, the garden is producing lots of yummy veg this year and here's a prize winning fennel if I ever saw one!
Let's see..hmm. We had a big wasp issue this summer (and seem to continue to have one - argh!). So far the grand total of wasp's nests exterminated has grown to (drum roll) THREE! Which is a full 200% over last year.. And they seem to be nesting in the ground this time. Very interestink... Below is a pic of the Waspinator at work with a pot of boiling water.. It took 3 trips from the kettle and 1/2 a can of BrakeKleen to wipe out the little buggers. Out of shear contempt, we've yet to dispose of the empty nest - just letting it lay there as a warning to the other wasps...

Camping was another big thing this summer.. we truly enjoyed the trailer as much as we could without actually taking a holiday. And my joy is to wake up before the kids, tip-toe around quietly perking a pot of coffee, taking the dog for a pee and basking in the glory of a sleeping child.. I really should just carry around a picture of my sleeping children (instead of the smiling, mocking picture I have) since the sleepy child is much more 'warm fuzzy' inducing and would serve a great reminder to not actually run from the house screaming when the mood strikes.. See? I've got those warm fuzzies already.. I just want to run upstairs and touch their little chubby faces, smell their sweet breath and gaze at their motionless cuteness now.. Sigh... It can be so easy to forgot the tantrum fits, the bashing of toys against one another's bodies, the purposeful spilling of drinks, horribly smelly diapers and the perpetual bruises. oops. Moment is ruined...

Anyway, I'll just drive off into the sunset and enjoy the scenery in my roadtrip memories instead.

The Open Prairies.. love'em

-------------

Sisters are the B-E-S-T!

Bad Dog!!

Well, it finally happened - she let me know that she's been feeling ignored.. She even made Kyra cry over her toy sponge. I barked at her once, we cleaned up the scattered shrapnel and then took the poor puppy for a walk. Live & learn...

Expressions..

Daily Stuff

Vocabulary from a toddler is one of those funny things that charm us. Noelle is certainly full of charm and full of funny words.. Aminals, Bressfest and suglasses are just a few of the garbled things that come out of her mouth. (translation : animals, breakfast & sunglass. In case you couldn't understand them either..). Mostly though, she's an articulate, sharp little speaker. No single words here, full on sentences - and luckily most of them intelligible. I can only hope that she takes to potty training as easily, cuz that ain't no picnic right now.. I suppose she'll just teach herself when the time comes, she's that kind of a personality..

Good-bye to a Legacy

I just wanted to make a quick post in commemoration of a great woman, strong person and loving mother, aunt, great-aunt, sister, grandmother and great-grandmother.
I'll miss you a lot Aunt Bud (nee Veronica Drake).

See you in my dreams...

Spring Springs UP!

..and we're outside enjoying it - everyday!! We've even found ourselves a great family canoe (yes, we did it!) and we plan to take full advantage of that, too! The girls cannot wait to get out and do some serious camping/canoeing this year and take every chance they can to set up sleeping bags in the living room and play 'camping'. Life is better, now that the sun shines on a regular basis.. ;-)

Many things have happened..Here's a few..

One of us discovered just how traumatizing blue marker can be when used as lipstick..

Dirt + Water = Foot Washing

Fish can be mesmerizing..

Checkin' out the Hippos with the Gang

******************************************************

HAPPY SECOND BIRTHDAY!!

Blow!

******************************************

...And along came Easter celebrations... The eggy toots around this house were stellar!!

Kyra & her best buddy, Evan - crafting it up!

*********************************************

HAPPY 4th BIRTHDAY!!

Pink is BEAUTIFUL!!

A Pillow Will Be Served With Dessert..

This has happened more often these days, since the dropping of the 'nap' and the discovery of a social life..well, as 'social life-y' as a 2 year old can get.. Unfortunately for us, the cute dinner dopey-ness is usually after a preclusion of psychotic behaviour and rollercoaster emotions - but it's all worth it, I swear! ha ha.. I also need to add that she stayed up to 8 (the video was taken at 4:50) after all, and she ate 7 pancakes in total..

Spring Eludes Me

Well, here we are in the throes of another Winter.. What the H-E-double hockey sticks is going on??!! On the upside of all this absolute crappy weather and brrrrr temperatures, I hear that most of the pine beetles are dead. At least there's one good thing to come out of the past 6 months of bone chilling punishment..argh. I guess I had never really noticed just how crappy the weather can be until I had kids. I chomp at the bit to get them out the door and playing in the yard, just for my peace of mind and for the fact that they are getting some form of outdoors in their childhood years.. Actually, I find it like pulling teeth to pull Kyra away from some mindless children's show on Treehouse but when I can actually get her outside and playing with a pile of mud or snow, I can't actually get her back INSIDE for any reason other than food. She's a simple thing sometimes. Noelle loves the 'outside' . period. so any mention of it is like mention the W word around the dog, salivation begins and pacing ensues.. I'm still kicking myself for not having enough toasty clothing for her to wear - next year, I hit the stores like Eddie Bauer (if they even sell kiddie clothes) for some serious kids thermal stuff. I'm not feeling trapped by the cold AGAIN!

Spring...Winter...Spring...Winter...Strolls through the puddles, snow, puddles..

Poser!

We're also careening closer to birthday #2 for Noelle..just 13 days away! Nothing big planned really, just a little cake made into a turtle (Kyra's idea). And I'm informed that this year "we will turn out the candle before she has a chance to cry" - Kyra knows it all, I tell ya! I can't decide on a gift for 'Welly' yet, but I'm leaning towards a slide for the yard seeing as she's positively addicted to the 'Slidey' as she calls it. I've seen a folding one at the toy store and I'm patiently waiting for it to go on sale before pouncing.. I'm fairly confident this will happen within the next few weeks (not!). ha ha..

Mommy & Ms. Naked 2009

Also in Noelle's world, she's speaking in sentences. Actual, long sentences like, "Put it in the garbage, Mommy" No, nambie pambie two word stuff around here! She's our second MENSA child in the making...now if only she'd figure out how to use the toilet..ah, but that's another blog post.. I guess it's back to spring cleaning - some of us do this in our Sunday best around here..

Don't worry if you're not good enough...

..Just sing..sing a song!!!
I remember this song from my early childhood days, when the guy on Sesame Street sang that song. I'm not sure why I remember it so vividly, but I'm sure it has much to do with my love of singing throughout my life (with or without an audience, of course). And the girls are no exception here. Noelle is now asking over and over again for me to sing 'itsy bitsy spider' to her. She makes the hand movements and always comes in on the last word of the line, as sort of an off-key reverb to my singing. It thrills me to no end to watch her rapt focus on my lips and hand signs as I go through the motions and you can practically see the wheels in motion, soaking up every little note & nuance of the silly tune. She also asks for 'rock-a-bye baby', 'twinkle twinkle little star', and 'I wanna be sedated (by the Ramones)'..Well, actually, the last one she just likes it when I do the guitar part on my rockin' air guitar, but I'm sure she'll be asking for it soon!
A milestone event in Kyra's singing repertoire, is the fact that she can remember a song after hearing it twice (shocks the heck out of us!) and that she can actually carry a tune now! Even Grandpa remarked on her amazing ability to do just that - sing in tune! Up to now we were silently cursing her tone-deaf aproach to singing, but after a collective sigh of relief - we are extremely happy. And rightfully so.. It's pretty hard to stay sane with what seems like 20 small girls running around the house, screaming at each other, shrieking & laughing, banging toy instruments AND singing off-key - it's almost too much to bear, no matter how much love we have for them!!
Happy tunes ahead for us... phew.

Snow Juice

Being forced together during the winter months allows us to fully enjoy the strange scenarios and verbal graspings of our kids. Like 'snow juice' for example. While we were out walking the other evening, Kyra noted that when she squished the snow at the side of the sidewalk, some of it melted. Doing so took an immensely long time out of our walk and when I encouraged her to 'get a move on', she said, "But Mommy, I'm making snow juice!"

.. As for Noelle, she can't quite make up words or new names for things but she can sure find humour and fascination in the mundane. Daddy's magazines occupy many minutes of her short attention span, "hotrod" is a new word in her repertoire. And the toilet is a constant source of intrigue, too. Especially when one has free reign of as much toilet paper as the roll will put out! She's now very much into helping us with making dinner/breakfast/lunch (much to my exasperation sometimes as she's quite relentless in her helping). And she can sure spend hours putting on necklaces and shoes to parade around in! I even have to hide my glasses from her...

Do I look smarter in these?