Let the New Year Begin!!

Here we are, on the last day of 2008 - fighting illness, struggling with underwear in the morning and finally enjoying a bit of quiet time. It's been a long month of inner turmoil for the little ones in the house and heavy wine consumption for the bigger ones. I'm sure one isn't caused by the other.. Noelle continues to challenge us in ways that Kyra never did. She's sneaky, goofy and currently abundantly FULL of new words to throw around. I'm still trying to get used to the fact that if you ask her a question, she will actually answer you (most of the time) with something intelligible. On the flipside of this learning curve, she also thinks she has choices about what she eats, when she goes to bed and if she has to be fastened to her carseat or not. Sigh. The battles have begun with the coming of the new year... I'm girding my loins!

The Days Fly By...

I just cannot believe how much time has been speeding along. It seems as though I was just getting out summer togs and now I'm getting out the winter woolies. Of course, here that could just mean a matter of minutes has passed but I find things just a bit more final when clothes actually go into the old Rubbermaid containers.. Another shipment of donation baby things has been loaded into the van, too, so that feels just a bit more permanent when speaking of season changing.

The girls are changing a lot this month as well. It's nice to hear 'please' and 'thank you' come non-chalantly out of Kyra's mouth, after years of DRILLING them into her. She seems also to be calming down in the 'hairy fit' department as well. I still see her having a hard time with us saying 'no' to her on certain requests - this is the typical procedure to begin the hairy fit...

K: "Can I have MY T.V.?" (eyelash batting included here)

Me: "No."

K: "YES!!!" (brows knit together, lip pouts)

Me: "No."

Evil K: "WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" (head spins around)

I can stay calm for all this, as I know it's coming now. Some days are better than others, tho'.. As for little Noelle, who can predict what behaviour arises from her??! One minute she's calmly petting the dog and the next minute she's climbing into the dryer! She has been on a voyage of self-discovery though, and dressing one's self is at the top of the list. Keeps us all amused...

No E.I. for Me!

Well, today was the last day of our 'dayhome' stint. Wee Jesse has returned to his Mum and I have once again returned to being the mother of 2 - not the mother of 'twins' and an older girl as so many have asked me in the past 2 months... It was a new experience for me and suffice it to say, not a vocation that I would really pick for myself. I mean, I was never a really good babysitter when I was a teenager (I wasn't really sure just what to do with them, really). And to look after someone else's kids, when you're just learning to really love your own takes a whole new bucket of patience, tolerance and stamina. But I did my duties, didn't kill him through neglect, changed his diapers on demand, fed him when necessary and called off Noelle when she thought he'd make a better hitting target than her stuffed animals. All in all, I think it went well as the little fella didn't really want to leave today, miniature plastic horsies were MUCH more interesting and he was surrounded by cute chicks to boot...

We'll miss ya, Jess-man!

There's a Chill in the Air

..and a gale force wind to follow! Eek. The winter weather is starting to creep into our lives here and I'm not sure if I'm ready.. There is that certain kind of heart-pumping exhilaration when that first blast of cool air hits your face as you step out the door; and that cozy comfort that you get when you're all nestled in a warm jacket & cords. So I do think that winter has its obvious merits but somehow it always comes as kind of a disappointment & surprise that the warm weather of summer/fall has to end. Curses on you, Mother Nature!

And lets not forget that now there are 3 jackets to put on, 3 pairs of shoes to velcro & tie and 3 bodies to squeeze out the door within a set period of time before said jackets start to come off, those shoes find their ways elsewhere and those children start to get bored and wander off to play with something that was previously completely UNINTERESTING - "But I CAN'T leave now, I'm playin' Mum!". Some days it's a well oiled machine, somedays not so much...

Noelle is now 18 months old, officially yesterday. Wow. She's still little and fairly clutzy but she's starting to really throw words out there (even if they are only understandable by me) and make it around the block without the stroller! Those little legs can sure book it! On a not-so-great side of things, she's learned to defend her space with hitting & biting (giving Kyra a nasty circular bruise through her shirt!), she's learned that NO is an answer to things and that she can act pouty when she's mad or doesn't get her way. Exasperating to say the least. But to end on an upnote, she's got a sneaky sophisticated sense of humour and she loves a good book. Phew! Lucky she likes reading or she'd be really the odd duck out in this house.

And what have we been up to for the past 2 months? Well, there's been sickness galore, camping holidays, trips to the zoo, trips to the shopping mall, and numerous aimless walks to interesting destinations within our fair city..because we all know that it's not the destination but how you get there that matters. and getting there with 2 little girls is always a good time!

August? Already???

Where did the time go anyway??

Noelle has made it to her 16th month, started to babble a few words here and there ("bubble", "baby", "milk", "poo-poo") and she's found a way to express her frustrations at her big sister.. Hence the "no hitting" rule we have employed. ahem.

So, it's August eh? Another month of so-so weather and of very little action in the gardening department. I was just lamenting the fact that I seem to be getting NOTHING done in the form of weeding, transplanting, thinning or dividing. Instead I take trips to the library, the grocery store, the laundry room in the basement, the park and just about everywhere BUT the garden. Poor neglected plants.. Oh! But I lie! There is one plant that's not neglected this week, tho' - our raspberry canes! They are fully laden with those little sweet fruits and we're taking full advantage! Today the girls & I spent a good hour polishing off a pile of raspberries and I can only be thankful that the raspberry canes have lots of painful pricklies on them or I'm sure we'd find the girls hiding out amongst them, searching for a few berries that haven't been picked yet! I get a complete earful if I don't throw a few their way whilst picking... maybe I should think about picking when the sun comes up instead? Ha! Right..... This just rounds out our weekend of picking fruit - we went saskatoon berry picking on Sunday. Lots of fresh air, very few bugs and a healthy dose of wine tasting afterwards. Okay.. so I get a bit of 'me' time in there too. I can't complain, really.

No time to make eye contact here... must eat...

Indulgence!!
The Raspberry Hand!!!

Summer's Here, the Grass has Riz..

I've fallen out of practise in the blogfront - too tired, too busy, too drunk? Well, there a whole bushel of possible reasons I could make up. I just haven't gotten to it, suffice it to say. I have watched a few episodes of House and played too many computer games instead (confessions confessions!). Yes, the girls are keeping us busy. And yes, the weather is finally agreeing to some outdoor time. Yay, Summer!!

Noelle is all but sprinting in the house these days. She watches her little feet walking under her and has been speeding up the exercise to the point of light jogging.... before falling on her face. It's amusing yet causing me heartburn as I know what ALWAYS follows the foot watching (crash! waaah! Mommma!!). I know that she'll eventually stop crashing and that one day she won't cry when she topples, that's what keeps me riveted to the ritual everytime she does it.

Kyra has reached the "I can't" stage. Our helpless yet fully empowered toddler is suddenly overcome by inability! "I can't" is always the answer... She CAN'T find her stuffed elephant OR she can't put her socks on, which she so adamantly put on BY HERSELF for the past year. Suddenly she can't even wash her own hands! It's like she's suffered from some sort of stroke after turning 3. Aggravating? yes. Funny? At times. Will it pass? One can only hope.

Beam me up.

Happy Father's Day!

Yup. It came. It went. Zoom. Just like this Lotus that passed us on the highway today...

Unfortunately I only remembered by lunch time (a bit late, I know)..BUT! Luckily I can save my skin by postponing this day until next weekend... If I remember. oops. grin grin. Better write it down somewhere I look often (perhaps on the belly of the baby?).. Anyway, I have a good excuse - we were camping in our new-to-us tent trailer. I think the trip was an overall success with some minor adjustments for next time (like bringing dental floss!). Live & learn..

The Rig

The kids did great! Although, mental note to all those that have little kids with toilet phobias - perhaps the first big camping trip of the year be spent somewhere with FLUSH toilets. Thankfully Kyra only had to hold her #2 for 2 days, so she's much happier now that she's been to her 'own' toilet once again... sigh. One day, we'll look back on this and laugh I'm sure. Little Noelle was a trooper, loved being outside, napped when she was tired and went to bed without too much fuss - there are 2 teeth arriving but she lived without the Motrin even! I made her a sleeping bag (like, the night before we left! Martha Stewart, eat your heart out!) and it was perfect! Both of us couldn't understand, though, when she started cranking out at 4 in the morning - she was exhausted and should be sleeping dammit!.. Eventually, she went back to sleep but when I picked her up in the morning, I realized that her diaper had come off one side.. Soa-king WET! Ick. Sorry Noelle.. The following night went much smoother and quieter. aah.

I think I interrupted a private moment here at the trailer hitch ball.. (oh, that's a boo-boo on her forehead from meeting up with the corner of a speaker, rather bloodily I might add).

We went to a well known bird-watchers campground and caught all sorts of wildlife in action. The bird calls were amazing! Kyra & I scared a few grouse hiding out in the grass and some American Pelicans fishing for snacks in the shallows. And we woke up to Mourning Doves cooing in the tree. Pretty cool.. Even cooler was the fact that Kyra wouldn't get off her tricycle - another milestone event after months of complete cycle-apathy.. phew!

Ride, momma, ride!

This young'un (a Short-Eared Owl)was in a copse of birch trees by the lake, just doing some dancing on the branches. Just amazing to see such beautiful creatures up close! I even got to see my first herd of wild antelope today! Who'd a thought in Canada?! Hope next time is as much of a HOOT!!