October, you tease...

Judging by the appearance of colder temps you'd think that snow was imminent..but, alas, we don our rubber boots, shoulder the unbroken umbrellas and head out into the rain. Our neighbour's moods are dull and dreary but the sight of happy puddle splashing helps us all drag out of the blah. It's why we love kids. That abandonment of the negative and the focus on the good in anything we're dealt. The only thing missing is worm rescuing. Poor Welly...

Artist's Interpretations

GAH!!!

Some days are like flowing rivers, that move quietly over age-old smooth stones.. And some days just suck.
These days, #2 (I call her that now because she defies her festive name) is like fingernails on a chalk board; or a wound that itches and seeps; or that nasty crow that keeps dropping bones in my birdbath (but that's another story). In other words, she's being irritating. I can only hope that this is a phase because we do know that she can be caring, thoughtful and pleasant - as I keep re-reading my previous blogs to remind myself (sometimes twice a day)...

Tonight's quote:
"Mah-ahm (mom), can I play with my blocks?"
"No, honey, it's bedtime"
"But mom, I'm not tired, I'm still playish"...

I must confess..

This week our preschool has asked for a review of their performance, after a long-and-what-feels-like-forever 9 months of classes. They must really care about the abilities of their choice in instructors if they wait a whole school year to ask for feedback, huh. Yup. That's what I thought too.. So, I did what any other mother of a youngster would do - I reviewed them with a cold heart and CSI precision. It was ugly. I feel slightly dirty for being honest and straight-to-the-point. But, rest assured, I'm feeling better through the assistance of chocolate & wine.

Three Months Gone By!

Birthdays, Zoo trips and the like kept us going and from not tearing the house to bits! Some days were a bit hard, trying and my skills as a calm mother-figure were challenged (yup, I just snorted in my wine glass). While some days were fun, easy and remarkably enlightening. Go figure. But now that the warmer weather (I'm not going to complain about the rain...well, maybe just a little) is here, we can rejoice in being outside when we feel like it and not feel guilty about spending the odd rainy day inside - curled in front of the 'movie of the week'.

Noelle is now the big '4' and as she keeps reminding us - TOMORROW I'll be FIVE.. lol! Add onto this new appreciation of how great getting older is, we also have the realization that she doesn't have anyone younger to annoy..er, play with. So, last week she asked us to have another baby and that it better be a little boy, because she wants a baby brother. This is also after telling us that she wants to live with another family, one that doesn't have ANY children...*eye roll*... Wow, can kids ever make you feel appreciated.

Here's a truncated description of the past few months...

 Tangled is the best movie ever. How many times can you pretend play "Rapunzel"? Kyra does a mean chameleon role, as she refuses to be anything remotely resembling a princess. You could imagine the fighting over that one...

Easter Eggs rock! Who doesn't love the excitement of discovering a certain floppy-eared bunny has been leaving his chocky droppings around the house? We searched, searched and searched some more for that varmint - but he obviously left in a hurry... Poor Welly, she was sure disappointed about that - but oddly satisfied after eating her weight in sweets.


The constant clicking of my knitting needles has slowed down to 'sporadic' level. But the kids continue to be thrilled with the things that make it their way. This sneaky looking cat was requested out of a library book of mine and aptly named 'Flower', since she now sports a knit flower on her neck (no pic of that one yet, too sneaky to be photo'd)..

Birthday feet!

Birthday tow-behind bike! 

 Kyra's birthday Pinata - Elephants are the thing for her and crafts are always a bonus when it comes to elephants! Being the continually clever mummy I can be, we combined the two and whipped up this little beauty. Who loves papier mache? We do, we do!!! Happy 6th Baby!




A herd of tasty pachyderms for the birthday shindig! Gluten-free chocolate with Italian buttercream..mmmm

 So, one more birthday left in these festive months and I've got a nice rest for the remaining part of the year. Well, until Halloween I suppose...hmm. Better start planning for that one... Let camping season begin!

Cold Snap Prisoners!

Here we all sit, chained to the inside of our house.. Unbelievable wind chills are our worst enemies of late and today would be a big surprise if it wasn't another day of them. So, I might as well complain about it on the internet! We have been able to go tobogganing a few times this winter - but the snow is now crusty and disappearing into thin air as I type this...sigh... We've put on and taken off our ice skates a few times. But when you're three, minus twenty just won't work for that activity... Even the poor dog has been suffering from non-walks. On an up note - the cat has her own tree now, completely upholstered even! She's happy (as happy as a cat can get I think) and gets WAY more exercise than any of us. We do get to see the inside of many malls, libraries and pools. Home Depot loves us in the wee hours of the morning when the littlest one can run freely up and down the aisles of paint, plumbing and light bulbs while I deliberate over getting new LED fixtures and paint colours for the living room. Decisions are still pending... No one has asked us to leave yet, so we keep returning.  Last week we spent many hours operating on stuffed animals and 'delivering' baby fuzzies from our artificial wombs. Pretend play has gotten much more sophisticated of late, you can imagine... At least tomorrow we get to go to swimming lessons and possibly out to our friend's farm to behead some chickens... (NOW it's getting exciting, isn't it??!)..

Holy Cats!

It's been AGES...I know..Spring disappeared, Summer arrived, Summer left and here we are.. smack dab in the middle of Fall. Phew! There was much camping, gardening, bike riding, visiting, eating, drinking, merriment, tears and laughter. It's just a jumble in my head right now but I thought I'd touch on a few things we accomplished over the past few months.. At the bottom of the family totem pole we have Kinny, the Shiba, she turned 12 this year. She's getting a bit white around the muzzle and turning into a cat the way she sleeps all day unless someone jingles her collar (on purpose or by accident). She's hooked on glucosamine and rediscovering 'chase-y' the way she used to. Oh, and she doesn't growl nearly half as much at the girls anymore BUT she has taken to peeing on our bed when she gets left out of family activities (like when we mow the lawn outside and leave her inside). Annoying, yes. Solvable, yes. We just have to remember...

Next on the list we have the newest member of the household - Tia, the silver tabby.

This little cheeky thing found Kyra & I out front of the house one Sunday morning, after a good run (Kyra rides her bike with me now). She just came a-runnin' from up the block and hasn't left yet! The vet figures she was left behind when someone moved since she's healthy, sociable and about 4 months old. Either way, we tried posting ads, searching the local vets and the local humane society but to no avail.. We've since become her pets I think...

Noelle has mastered "how to annoy your sister" 101. She can dress herself completely, sometimes even accurately! She can poop on the toilet, most days... And she's attempting to learn how to use a knife - "No, Noelle, we don't eat FROM the knife..". It'll take some practise... But I have to admit, the most amazing thing about her is her ability to observe and comment on things. She can compliment you out of the blue and will empathize with you at the drop of a hat! She came up the stairs the other day and said, "Mummy, I like your pony tail"... and then went about her business.. It's pretty damn cute when you witness it!

Kyra mastered the use of a bike, sans training wheels! Yay! And will ride at every chance she can...

Below she's pictured on a 7 degree day.. I think I was dressed in coat & mitts, she apparently still has an internal combustion engine on full speed!

She also took an airplane trip and dipped her toes in the Pacific ocean - we now own stellar collection of shells!

 All in all, a great summer for everyone! It's nice that we can take longer car trips now that the kids are older - who knows how far afield we can make it next year!?

Now that fall has arrived..the garden is getting tidied, bulbs are planted and the girls are rediscovering the sandbox! I'm taking advantage of the new distraction and doing a thorough cleanse of their clothing collections. Just Purge It... Feels good..

Oh, and we've offically entered the public school system. Opinion-pending at this time...

Until Winter, I guess we'll plug along. And at this time of year we'll be thankful for the great things we are able to do, able to eat and for the great people we can share it all with!