Two Years Worth.. maybe.

It's been a long time between posts, I admit. But I have a good excuse... I lost touch and fell into a pit of ambivalence... I wanted to say things, I truly did. And in my mind, I have pages of script. But, dammit, I didn't type them down here and they're mostly gone.. *sniff*..

Let's see.. 2 years, huh..

I've knitted 100 items.

I've run a 1000 km.

I've put together about 10000 snacks.. (well, it feels like it).

On the home front:

We've watched a "home play" from the girls at least once a week. Although sometimes, we're treated to magic shows which often involve us closing our eyes in order for the trick to come to fruition. And sometimes, the shows have singing and dancing. It's like off-off-off-broadway... For example, as I type this they have just announced a play called, "Going On An Adventure, Hobbit"... I'm not sure of the plot but there's a lot of discussion about radishes and potatoes at the moment..

We're ready for hot chocolate!!

We put down our Shiba Inu, Kinny, last year. Her kidneys finally gave out and at 14 years old, we said good bye to her. I'll always remember her for her great camping and canoeing skills, her endless desire to chase cat toys and her love of mushrooms & tuna.. Oh, and the way her fuzzy little ears would stick out to the sides when she'd greet us at the door with her toy stuffie in her mouth. She was a good dog. A little neurotic, but a good dog.

Tux

We acquired a second cat (did I mention the first one?). We saved a cat from the Meow foundation and have given him all the food he can eat, all the lovin' he can handle and all the monkeys he can hump. (Don't ask). Tia, the first cat, is still fairly unimpressed by this newcomber but will indulge him with violent head-smacking when she feels it necessary.

School has been going well. Both the girls are excellent students so far and love to read at home. Sometimes it's a bit difficult to leave the house while noses are stuck in Tin-tin books, but we're still pretty happy that they prefer books to tv.

Early April weather brought some amazing things..

The garden is looking amazing. Each year it gets bigger, much to the chagrin of the kids, and the amount of food we get from it increases just that little bit more. We have successfully grown garlic this year which almost trumps the broccoli we grew last year. Broccoli!! No bugs and a whole summer's worth. It was so sweet and tasty. I can't wait to do it again next year.

Well, enough for today... I've gotta run anyway, the day is still gorgeous and the girls want to go for a bike ride..

Yup. Life is never dull around here.

Random Thoughts,

Sometimes, we see just how to vent your frustrations without tears... Kyra wrote this after getting mad at Dad, and the she stuck it to her closed door.. I can just see her "texting" us in later years.

Noelle was drawing a picture (which I can't find now) of 2 elephants - one REALLY big and one really tiny. Each of the elephants were covered in great long lines.. I asked her if they were zebra elephants and pointed to the lines on the big elephant. She replied, "No! Those are wrinkles!!". I said, "Oh, okay. So does the little one have wrinkles too?". To which she replied, "No. Those are shrinkles.."

Last night I was asked, in all seriousness, how people go about having a baby without being married...I responded in what any modern family would say..."People don't need to be married to have babies, of course. They should just really love each other and want the baby together." "Do dogs get married if they want puppies?" I asked her.. She laughed and was happy with that. Phew!

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!