What.... Sunday's over?

It's always nice when T's schedule works out that we get a large chunk of time off. This block was four days, which fleeeeeeeew by (Murphy's Law right?) but we're in a good place in the rotation because he has a few big ones in the next few weeks - YAY! 

I took a few photos with my camera, but I have to sneak down to pull them off so tonight I'm cell-phoning it. We had a busy weekend, Thursday was Ty's first day off but he was doing some training for a possible career move (a long-ish way down the road) so he was gone for a good chunk of the day. Honestly I can't really remember what occurred Thursday afternoon because my brain blocks out all memory due to the joy of him being home Friday morning to take Abbs to school! It's SO nice to not have to drag everyone there twice in a morning!!! Friday evening we had a couple of families over for appetizers and it was a fun full house. Abby was in her glory 5 girls playing girly games! .... we probably heard "Bennett is doing _______!!!!" about 100x that night, lol. He also was enjoying having all the girls around!!!

Today we went to the zoo - which is a family favorite since moving here. It's so nice to have the option to drop in for just an hour or two while running errands and let the kids burn off some steam. 

...now those who know me, know I'm a bit of a foodie. I am in LOVE with a little local ice cream shop in the city. They make the most amazing ice cream ever - and I love they have sorbet and coconut milk ice cream as dairy free options that are SUPER delicious. (sometimes the *alternates* taste like second-place goodies). My favorite is the Cardamom (on the top), with Salted Caramel peeking out from underneath. Made my whole day...blissful.

 

I've been buying the boys matching clothes lately, which Ty shakes his head at. I just got a box from Crazy 8 in the mail - LOVE them. Sweaters, pull overs, flannel long sleeved, regular plaids... LOVE it. And it's super easy when you're in public to look for the same shirt, rather than remembering what everyone was wearing. I always swore I'd never be this mom...guess I'm eating crow for dinner.

We had thought it was going to be super warm today (the chinook is blowing) but it turned out that it was chilly in the city - so we were slightly lacking in some winter apparel. Thankfully we have extras for Lachlan in the diaper bag and one of his hats fit B and Abby's vest had a hood - so everyone's heads were warm. Lachlan lucked out - he was bundled in some warm blankets for sleeping in the stroller, but most of the zoo he was in someone's arms looking around. He likes to face out and see the world - brave little dude already!!

 

Melt my heart.... these two share the same name, and my Bennett thinks he's the cat's meow!! He graciously complies with holding Bennett's hand and allowing him to boss him around, lol. 

I wonder if he'd let me buy him a matching shirt....

 

I tried hard to get a photo of Beverly C's haircut...but it's tough to really show it. You can kind of see some of the hair's that she missed in the bang area. This week I'm taking her to the salon to get it fixed... we'll see what they can do with her insane layering.

 

I LOVE the squish of babies. It's like the chubby wrinkles of a puppy!!! 

 

Ty got a super cool espresso machine for Christmas and he's been busy trying to perfect his cup of Java.... here he made me four different samples to try out. What? Why no, I don't drink coffee at all!! Two were less "awful", but I can't remember which angle I took the photo from. Truthfully, he makes me a mean tea-latte and that's all I care about....so if I have to sample a few sips of coffee here and there - I'll suffer. 

 

 

Randoms

Today I realized that when weird people reproduce, they have odd children. 

Case in point: We live in a two-story house, and up the railing there are the larger posts every now again (whatever they are officially called is moot in this story). Well for a few days Abbs was hanging out on the stairs.alot. I asked her a few times what she was doing and she was all "Just hanging out with _____." (The name changed a few times until she settled on Alejanrooo). So I finally catch her kissing this post and I ask her "What are you doing??" I embarrased her because I was laughing, but she informed me "MOM. Someday my prince will come, SHOULDN'T I be prepared?!?!?!" Umm... no. You're four.

Anyways, she was hanging out with Alejanrooo later and I snapped a photo, but my cell skills are lacking and I only got part of her face (see post one for reference).... Abby in about 10 years you'll love I recorded this little memory for you <3

 

Speaking of Alejanrooo, we love to make up names to call each other. It's ever changing, and usually causes us to bust a gut. For close to the last year Bennett's "dog" name has been Garlic (and yes, he answers to it). Weston has been Sarah since the spring.... lately I've been Human, Abby's been Visitor and Lachlan...poor Lachlan has been Princess Anna.

Abby had a little afternoon outdoor-playdate today to celebrate the warm weather....she had school this morning which I had to wake her up for (so she was a little testy this afternoon - which is out of character for her, she has the sweetest little girlfriend and normally they get along perfectly, so it was odd that Abbs was so grouchy), so when we got home she was ready for some quiet independent play (and an attempted nap when she thought my eyes were turned). She received this super cute Goldilocks set as a gift and it's perfect for playing with by herself. She spends hours recreating the story, and adding her own twist on things.

 

OOoooooh, so most people know every day Habbsie has school we draw a picture on her piece of fruit. She thinks it's hilarious and now it's the big thing in her class to see what she gets. I am in mad competition with Ty to create the best picture, Ty draws when he`s home but most of the time it`s me (oh french keyboard)...anyways, I came up with this brilliant one this morning!!

 

 

GET IT!?!!? So far only my girlfriend got it.... Baaa-nana!!! Ty was all "Why is there a sheep with a balloon?" WHAT!!! This is freaking HILARIOUS!!! ....well, I cracked up all morning about it anyway.

Finally just before Bennett's third birthday we've convinced him to get a regular bed (the kid loves his crib). He's been climbing out for years, and it got to the point where Lachlan may need it eventually, but Bennett wouldn't budge on giving it up. So much to my horror, we caved and got him a car bed. UGH. I know, I said I would never get one and I cringe every time I walk into the room. But he loves it - so I'm hoping he grows fast. 

 

We did a little family hot-dog roast at the sledding hill in our little neighborhood with another family, and the kids had fun sledding down the luge track. It was SO slippery that the kids were going sans sleds - it was pretty fun, and amazingly enough no one was injured. I always figure Lachlan will meltdown (Bennett would never have enjoyed himself ) but he's so chill and relaxed. Also, he is our first soother baby. I'm not sure if it will change once his teeth come in, but for now he's all about chewing/chomping on the soother - his hands get red/chapped from having them in his mouth all the time, so I think the soother is just a welcome break for him. He likes Sophie and his cloth lovies, but I think the soother just sits in his mouth so easy that it's convenient. We only have this one, so once it's gone it's gone!!

 

 

 

No-Photo-Tuesday Repeat!!

Ha ha, it's totally my thing!! No, I've been slacky....this is no better than FB updates. Sorry Grandma's!

This last week was busy and unorganized (heeeeeeello, have any of you met me!) and lovely. Abbs totally never made it to school Friday *ducks* and she's reminded me of it every morning since then. I'm sure she's going to tell her teachers that she never made it because Mom wanted to sleep in (I'm pretttttty sure I was the only one awake at 8am, and the other 3 small people were all mouth-agape-in-dream-land!!

Wee Lachie is up on hands and knees already, desperately wanting to be on the go....and I'm not going to lie - as amazing as it is to watch their little self's (yes, I said self's) become "someone", it's more than bittersweet to watch my last baby hit all of these milestones. OOOH, and shall I write it here that any dream of Lachlan being a sweet, subdued little one was squashed tonight when the words "Who coloured Lachlan with a sharpie?" came out of my mouth, only to hear Bennett reply "Him did it himselfs!!" ..... "Abby, please ensure markers/pens/pencils/crayons/paint (and paintbrushes) are not left within baby rolling/scooting distance please. Pardon? Yes...that includes carrots and pickles as well Bennett."

Parenting Points of My Week:

1) Sometimes it's a struggle with "everyone wants mom, and no one wants to share." All three have their own needs/wants and they don't always include having everyone there. Lachlan is obviously the most "physically" needy right now, and for the most part the other two are totally fine with it, but because we lack having Dad around consistently it can be a juggle during those times someone is looking for one/one time. Abby has bedshared with us since day one and I'm sure she'll be 10 by the time she moves out, but Bennett has always LOVED his own sleeping space. He doesn't like to share his space at all and when he is in our bed we laugh, he'll be dead asleep and blurt out "You're touching my pillow!!!! _____ just touched me!!!!!" But he's evolving now into wanting me (or Ty if he's home) to lay with him while falling asleep in his bed, and he doesn't want Abby or Lachlan in there. He wants to share a pillow, you need to lay under his blanket, he wants his arms around your neck - noses almost touching, and he wants to whisper/chat. This is a big evolution for him, and something that is important for his small soul. For the most part it's fine - L goes down first (like a dream might I add) and then Bennett, then Abbs. She sees nothing wrong with us all piling together to read/snuggle and drift off, but I think because how busy we are during the day (and how chatty his sister is) he saves up his thoughts and that is the time he chooses to share with us. Poor Abby just can't understand why she is excluded.... I'm trying to come up with super fun independent activities for her to do while we do Bennett's bedtime routine, as we feel it's really important to allow him this. We try to remember she had us all to herself for a really long time, and he deserves the same moments as well.

2) Winter is HARD on parent/child relationships. Frustrations with each other can max out, especially with temps being far below -20C and WINDY for most of the winter. We have busy, busy kids and they don't do well (my house suffers) when they aren't burning energy. It's easy to bundle up Lachlan in the wrap and wear him under a parka for a walk, but often the kids are wanting us (me) to run pulling them on the sled, ride on the sled down the sledding hill/luge track, wrestle in the snow (things that aren't super safe for Lachlan to be doing while being worn).... so it's nice when the milder weather is here and we can bundle him up in the stroller (which he sleeps like a rock in) so I/we can play with the older two. I have to remember I was pregnant for almost a whole year, and while I tried to do lots of fun things and not let pregnancy slow me down (hence skiing at 26 weeks pregnant) it did alter the activities we did and they did hear "sorry mommy can't do that because of the baby". SO, now I have to make the conscious effort to put baby down every now and again (which is super hard) and play with them without babe on hip!! I've been compiling a list of super fun things to do while it's cold... since we're a single income family I've been trying to cut down on driving costs when there is a plethora of things we can do at home that are fun and exciting!!

3) The kids are both going to pick an activity to do. The speed at how crazy life can be with 3 kids in activities makes me cringe a bit, but socially they both will benefit for different reasons. They are whittling down their choices, they both know they don't want swimming lessons (more on that later), and are bouncing between a few ideas. We'll see what they pick! Abby LOVES going to school and enjoys all her little friends. She's becoming quite the little "mathie" lately which is crazy to me.... it's something that has never come easy to me, I was always more into English and Sports, so her adding/subtracting in her head amazes me. Her neurons are blooming since entering school and she's been stretched/challenged in different ways - she really struggled with wanting to listen to people other than mom/dad there for a bit, and thinking that we were creating bizarre rules/boundaries for her. Going to school and having the same rules/values re-enforced has grounded her a bit in that maybe Mom/Dad are not out to lunch :) ...yes, I have had a few "See, I told you so" moments in my head. ;)

No.Photo.Tuesday.

Yep, No-Photo-Tuesday is totally a thing. Or at least today it is. My old dinosaur blackberry bit the electronic dust, and so it was time for an upgrade. Which normally would fall into the "YAY" category, but I am somewhat...well basically an electronic dunce and so it's taken me much of the day to figure anything out on it. I believe it was approaching 2pm before a girlfriend informed me how to turn it on - I thought the battery was dead, but no.... I was pushing the wrong button. I love, love, love taking photos with my camera, but I'm really looking forward to being able to snap some quick easy daily life photos of the kids. Often times as soon as they see the big camera they start hamming it up... I have to be super sneaky to get some natural, as it happen pics.

We had a fairly quiet day today in terms of action. Abbs has been complaining of a sore neck the last couple days - I'm unsure if she slept wrong or if she maybe banged it when she fell down the wooden basement steps a few nights ago. So, she laid pretty low today.... until she had a $95.00 shower today, using every lick of hot water and said it felt better after her 4 hours in the shower.

The kids did play most of the afternoon away, and *guilty confession*I spent a portion of it talking on the phone - which never happens, so it was pretty fabulous. One of my girlfriends in town is pregnant with her second - a little boy, and she's planning a "Blessingway" for Sunday. Basically a group of ladies come together to support and celebrate the journey and joy of this pregnancy, and fill up her soul with as much love and positive energy as possible as she heads into the final weeks of preparation and labours to meet her sweet boy. Such an incredible thing to be a part of - I feel so many times traditional baby showers (which are fabulous in their own right) focus on babe - and giving material things (which again, fabulous), but how amazing is it to have a group of empowering women offering complete support and focus on pampering Mama and her soul - which sometimes nearing the end of her 10 months can need a refreshing boost saying "You are incredible, you've created, nurtured and sustained this little being that you get to meet soon and you've totally got this!!!!!"  I'm very excited to take Abby with me, as I feel what a wonderful thing for her to be exposed to. She'll play away the afternoon I'm sure with her little friend there, but kids are always listening and absorbing the energy around them.... I think it's fabulous to plant the seeds early that women need to be a net for each other.

Insert elevator music here.

...sip......sip. What is that? Silence...well the sound of me sipping some hot tea out of my favorite Yellowstone mug. Much of today has been exactly like this... I can be honest most days our house I'm sure is louder than an Elephant Sanctuary during peak mating, so this type of day is worth noting. Today was nothing special activity wise, but everything seemed to just gel. Lachlan's in the 5 month sweet spot right now, perfectly content to just have someone near him. He's SO happy to be on the floor next to the kids, which gives me a few minutes to get things done here/there throughout the day. No teeth yet, and no hair.... he reminds me SO much of Habbs at this age, but she had a mouthful of teeth at this point.

The kids made out with some really great toys for Christmas - and this week has been full of new fun and imagination. We don't have a television on our main level *gasp, I know...* and with the temps dipping in the -30C's sometimes the kids go a bit stir crazy and fight like cats and dogs brother and sister, so it's always fun when we get new toys to spark the old neurons in new ways.

The remains of an epic battle between Pirates, the Evil Clown and a few "neighing horses" (that I never caught the names of). 

Lord, I love him with his popped collar and dimples.

This is what a typical lunch looks like around here. The kids aren't super into "meal type" lunches, so we do a lot of deconstructed plates. Today was all organic, which in the middle of winter is a tough feat sometimes! Carrot and red pepper sticks, peas, slice of cheese, leftover roasted sweet potato coins, cucumber coins, assorted raw nuts, homemade bone broth, water with frozen raspberries, and greek yogurt with some nut butter and maple syrup for a yummy dip. SHOCKING news: Mr Picky (aka: Bennett) ate the dip. He did not however even entertain for one moment the idea of drinking water with a berry in it.

There are so.many.battles in our house on a daily battle that I try to never fight over food with them. This way, I can put out a selection, they eat what appeals to them, and over the course of a day they've eaten a wide variety of nutritionally dense food. Win.Win.Win. That being said this method of serving food does nothing to encourage them to sit still and just eat. Today I dined with a "Professor" and "A guy with binoculars".....

Here starts now.

I'm already laughing at the faces many of you are making at the name of this blog.... could it be that my sarcastic wit is gone and in its place remains a mushy, sappy mother of three angels? Possible. Likely? Perhaps not. I promise you it will be full of the stories that make me die with laughter and probably make many of you thankful you don't live this life (and I'm so happy none of you do and that every delicious chaotic drop belongs to me)....stories like today when Lachlan was napping and with the other two cuddled up on my bed watching a movie I chanced a shower. I tried to enjoy the hot water while keeping an ear open for anything suspect, and quickly got out of the shower, got dressed, checked children and was just changing the laundry over before blow-drying my hair when I caught a whiff of it... URINE. Bennett has proven MUCH more difficult than Habbs to potty train, and we frequently deal with "It was just a accident, I peed them a wittle." when asked why his pants are missing (and then we hunt for the puddle he left behind). SO... the hunt was on. I was sniffing like a crazy person but it would come and go. Because it was the "old-pee" odor, I sniff the laundry basket, the bathmat, the toilet (maybe he dribbled?) the floor....nothing. I shrug and go to blow-dry my wet (and probably.almost.dry.by.now) hair and there it is...the smell of pee in the air. I assume it must be coming from my bedroom - to which I sniff the whole thing over....literally like a drug dog. NOTHING. I then figure I'm losing it (which is quite possible) and go back into the bathroom to attend to my hair, where-upon removing the towel from my head realize someone small had peed somewhere, at some time in the last 24 hours, used THAT towel to mop it up and then placed it on the counter beside the sink... for the LOVE of PETE!!!!

I'm off topic now...which honestly, will happen frequently. But I figure that's okay, because those who have had the pleasure of making my acquaintance, realize that's pretty much how my brain works.  In a non-linear to everyone else, but completely linear to me way. Honestly, I have no clue how this will work out...but for 2014 I'm going to attempt this, to prevent my children from inheriting 90000 physical journals one day. I find now with three children the days are flying by at an alarming rate.... understandable, but boy does it make you wish for a pause button. In the last few months (I guess since L's arrived) Bennett has not only tripled in size (not literally, but it seems like it), he's left toddlerhood behind. He's got the gangly length of a preschooler to him when you heave him to lift him... it makes me ever aware to soak up these days before they are gone. And rather than clutter up my Facebook with a zillion "my children did this ________" posts, this can be for me. A place where I can put all my special things, and if you were able to draw a line around them, it would surely be heart shaped.