African Lion Safari

Our trip to African Lion Safari...

 Was a perfect day. The weather was great and so many wonderful memories were made.

Father's Day 2013

To the best dad our kids could ask for, thank you. Thank you for...

- giving up your daily naps

- always making us laugh

- being the calm force in the house when anyone (no need to name names here) is about to "lose their shit"

- never complaining when you get whacked with a hand and hear "it's your turn!" in the middle of the night

- making dinner every night after work with two kids demanding your attention

- cleaning up many of those said dinners so the boys and I can have some play time 

- building us a shed, playhouse, and pergola 

- offering to help me clean later, just so I can have some time to relax "now"

- never complaining about my runs, my shopping trips, or my dinners/coffee out with the girls

- teaching our boys EXACTLY how to be great fathers and husbands, just by being you

Thank you my love,

Happy Father's Day!

Love, your doting wife 

Xoxo 

To My Dear Friends

To my dear friends,

Please know that I miss you dearly and think of you often. I know some time has passed since we last spoke but I promise it's not what I planned. You see, this whole mothering thing has been a lot more work then I imagined. 

When I'm not at my paying job, I spend my time changing diapers, wiping little hands and faces,  making meals with little hands reaching up for me, kissing little faces and hurt little knees, doing laundry, planning meals, reading stories, taking pictures, giving baths, working through tantrums, getting groceries, and cleaning rooms that should have been cleaned weeks ago.

Then at night, after the kids are both asleep and tomorrow's lunch is made, dishes are done, and we have run around picking up kids toys from all over the house (inside and out), I look up at the clock and realize I have exactly 10 minutes until the laundry will be ready to be folded and it will be time for bed. I know I should call you then, I really do. And I want to. By then though, my body and mind are just so tired that I need that 10 minutes. The truth is, those 10 minutes are usually spent going through all the 'to do' lists in my head and planning for tomorrow. Without that time, I'm afraid my world would come tumbling down all around me. 

Although it seems like a long time now, I really only have such a short time to make an impact on these beautiful kids that I brought in to this world. To help them feel loved and connected. To teach them right from wrong. To give them the confidence to be independent and strength to ask for help. They need to be with us for us to show them by example how to treat others with kindness and respect and to do the same for themselves. 

Just know, I really do think of you often. Of our nights of dancing, laughing, and talking for hours. Of out playdates when the kids were young enough to just lay on the floor and coo up at us. Of road trips and trips to beaches in far away lands. I'm confident that we will have those times again soon (minus the babies on the floor - no more for me anyway!) Please just be patient with me as I do the most important job of my life. And if you are thinking of me too, please know that you can call. If you ever need me, I will drop everything to be there for you.  I may not be able to go out for a night on the town but a movie, coffee, or dinner out with you may be just what we both need! 

Sincerely,

A friend that's missing you. 

My first 5K!

Warming up!

It's not sunny mum

Getting the tunes ready

It's go time!

Bouncy house fun while mum runs

Near the finish line!

Me and my motivation!

 First 5K - 31:58

Weight Loss Update

Well, I'm almost embarrassed to even say it, but I'm now down 50 pounds. 50. It feels amazing. It's hard to believe that after struggling with my weight for basically my whole adult life, I'm finally making a change. I'm controlling it instead of it controlling me. I've been on this journey for five months now and what a difference!

I get asked a lot what I'm doing to lose the weight, so I thought I'd share it here. My first step was to cut out sugar for a few weeks. I had horrible cravings all the time and I heard sugar was the culprit. If you need convincing, just watch "Hungry For Change." I had also read Practical Paleo at the advice of a friend (thanks Andrea!) Although I wasn't prepared to cut out wheat and dairy, it did convince me to really cut back on them, and to stick to whole foods as much as possible. So my journey began.

The first couple weeks were hard but I had committed to it for three weeks. I avoided almost all sugar, except the odd fruit, and ate as much whole food as possible. I also started finding alternatives to the foods I use to eat (kale chips, home made sweet potato fries, banana and egg pancakes, spaghetti squash, almond butter/milk, etc). After three weeks my cravings for junk food were gone. It was amazing how quickly I was able to turn it around.

I started tracking my calories as well using myfitnesspal.com. It's not for everyone but for me I find it keeps me accountable and lets me know when I should be eating more or less. I no longer track every day but I still do when I want to know where I'm at calorie wise for the day.

In January I also started working out. I did couch to 5k (a running program) three days a week, and 30 day shred three days a week, for 8 weeks. Now that it's starting to get warmer out I'm running outside most days. I love it. And on April 28th I'm going to run in my first 5K. 6 months ago I never would have thought I'd be a "runner". Even now I put it in quotations because it seems weird to call myself that!

The best part of all of this, and my biggest motivation, is that I have the energy to really play with my boys. Whether it's rolling around in the snow, running around the block (with one of them on my back), or having a dance party. I'm so excited for the fun we will have this summer!

Duck of Another Kind!

Two Carter stories that I don't want to forget...

A week and a half ago Carter and Lincoln had an eye doctor's appointment. It was in the evening which is always risky with little ones. It paid off with Link as he basically just sat still (very rare occurrence) on Dan's lap and let the eye doctor do her thing.

Carter on the other hand...

Evening's can go one of three ways with Carter. He's either super tired and whinny, tired and wired, or calm and relaxed. That night we got tired and wired. So as he was being asked what he saw ahead of him he decided to come up with new rhyming names for what he saw. As it went on he got sillier and sillier. And then came the duck, or as we now know as "fuck!"

He was on my lap and luckily couldn't see my reaction, but he definitely saw the smirk from the eye dr and then it was game over. For the next 5 min straight he yelled out "fuck" in response to any question she asked him. And since one of the three of us (me, Dan, or the eye dr) couldn't contain our laughter each time, it just got worse and worse. And any attempt to stop it just made it worse. Luckily, the eye dr has a great sense of humour, proven again when Carter wouldn't stop picking his nose as we were going to leave.

On the plus side, Carter had a blast and he won't hesitate to go back again!

Tonight I made spinach lasagna. The second Carter spotted the spinach he turned up his nose saying "I don't like broccoli!" Then when we broke the news that it was actually spinach it became "I don't like spinach!" When we told him that it has no taste he decided to give it a try and said "I do like it!" Unfortunately as he ate more he started turning his nose up at it. He started whining and whining about it until he told me "it's not the taste mum. I don't like the way it looks." I told him to just not look at it.

I wish I had a camera for what happened next. He then proceeded to close his eyes and try to get the spoon in his mouth from the side without looking at it. He just couldn't do it. Every time it got about an inch from his mouth one eye would slowly open and then he'd shiver with disgust. I felt bad for him because I remember feeling that way about certain foods when I was a kid. After it was clear it was not going to happen I offered to feed him while he kept him eyes closed. So, he proceeded to eat the rest of his dinner with his eyes closed, and even asked for more!

Perhaps the eyes closed trick will come in handy with some other undesirable foods!

January in a Flash!

For those not on facebook!

Memories

Well, the time has come again. Time for me to say good-bye to spending all day every day with my boys. Those that know me well, know this past year and a half has not been easy on me. Starting with 7.5 months of "morning" sickness, followed by 9.5 months of sleep deprivation that at times was so bad that I didn't know how I was going to make it. But that's not what I am going to remember.

I'm going to remember how excited I was to find out we were expecting. I'm going to remember sharing the news with friends and family, and cutting in to our blue cake! I'm going to remember seeing "JoJo" on the ultrasound machine, and the first time I got to hold my sweet baby boy in my arms. I'm going to remember the look on Carter's face the first time he saw Lincoln and how he compared his body to Lincoln's. I'll remember the first time Lincoln got to meet our friends and family, near and far.

Most importantly, I'm going to remember all the wonderful times I've had with my boys. Like the times Carter said "let's have a lazy pajama day and cuddle on the couch mum," and the times he would cry when Lincoln had to go have a nap because he "loves him." Learning all about dinosaurs, whales, and planets - "you be a blue compsognathus mum and I'll be a t-rex!"  Getting to watch Carter go from being a toddler to a funny, sweet, sensitive, and smart little boy. And watching Lincoln go from being a little baby to a little guy with loads of personality! Also, my days laying in bed cuddling with Lincoln all day so we could both try to catch up on some sleep. And seeing a smile that lights up a room every time he woke up and saw that he was laying next to me. I'll remember dancing with them both in the family room and the first time I saw Lincoln "dance" on his own. I'll remember all the extra family time we got to have and how blessed Dan and I are to have each other and our perfect little boys.

When I was on maternity leave after having Carter I made 9 new friends whose friendships I will cherish for the rest of my life. I will remember our play dates that went from 10 babies to 19! This time, I was lucky enough to have made another 80 friends. That's right, 80! Some of them have listened when I needed to talk, some have reminded me that I wasn't alone, some have made me laugh, some made me cry, some gave advice, some supported me, and some at times made me crazy. Some did all of the above! One kept me sane (you know who you are!) Time will only tell what will happen to all of those friendships, but I will definitely remember them fondly as well.

So although it's been a rough year and a half, it's memories like these that have made their mark and will stick out in my mind when I think back on this time.

He's 3

Ahhhhhh....we made it through the holidays. I love Christmas. Love it! But with two little ones it comes with a lot of stress added on to all the excitement. For Lincoln, it meant an interrupted routine, not eating enough (because he's too interested in everything around him to eat), and not getting to nap as much as usual. Anyone who has had a baby knows you have about a 5 minute window to get your baby down smoothly. Miss that window and you can guarantee you'll spend more time getting them down then they will sleep. For Carter, it means the occasional missed nap (tho, his naps are sporadic as it is these days) and a lot of emotions, good and not so good ones.

As an adult, or even an older child, excitement can be a lot of fun. I spend most of December being excited for Christmas. I love hearing Christmas music everywhere I go and shopping in busy stores (crazy, I know!). I love picking out gifts for people and doing Christmas baking. The thing is, I know what to expect. I know that we will get together with friends and family on multiple occasions over the holidays. I know when those get togethers will happen, who will be there, and when they will be over. I know that we will wake up Christmas morning, open presents, and then head over to Dan's parents place for the day. Carter, on the other hand, doesn't know what to expect. He knows that we are excited and he is too because he feels our excitement. But it is also overwhelming. A lot of comings and goings. A lot of unknowns.

Carter prefers to be at home (or at Gramma and Papa's since it's like a second home for him.) He wakes up in the morning asking if we are going to have a "lazy day", which to him means no going out, or if it's a "gramma day". If it's anything but one of those two types of days it's met with resistance. So it makes sense that when we are lacking in good old lazy days or gramma days, that it gets to be a bit much for him. Here he knows what to expect. He knows our routine, what his options for food/drinks are, where everything is, when his nap will be, and where he'll go the bathroom (yes, that one is very important).

There were a couple of occasions over the last two weeks where it was clear that it was a bit much for him. Like when we went to his baby group Christmas party and he sat on the drive-way refusing to go in. We compromised and agreed to go in for 10 min and then leave if he wanted to. He didn't. In fact he begged me to stay when it was time to go home. Other times that it was clear it was too much was when he would cry over what seemed like nothing, when he'd stick his tongue out instead of responding to a question, or when he'd hit someone (sorry Great Essey!) instead of saying hello.

Initially when these things were happening I was embarrassed. I felt like we must be doing something wrong. That we aren't teaching him proper manners, or...who knows. But then I realized, along with the help of some friends dealing with similar situations, that none of that it true. He's 3. That's it, he's 3. Although we can and should limit the amount of overwhelming situations for him, it's a part of life and would be a disservice to him to eliminate them all together. What we can do is just be understanding of where he's at right now. He needs us to keep things consistent whenever possible, to try to let him know what to expect, to listen, to make sure he gets a say, to be forgiving, and patient. We don't need to change him, or stress out about what we are doing right or wrong. We just need to love and accept him for who he is right now. Because he's 3, and by the time he's 4 or 5 he will have mastered skills that right now seem like too much, and then he'll face new challenges. It's all a part of life.