Happy Easter!

Can't you just imagine what Avery might be thinking? "Who are those crazy boys I'm always hanging around?"

Note to Easter Bunny

No more candy next year!

Seriously, there are way too many "holidays" that involve candy! It seems as though I can never get it out of my house!

The Great Egg Hunt 2008

This year's hunt perplexed the Easter Bunny.

How do you hide all those yummy candy eggs around a house that has a little, black furry garborator with a huge appetite?

Solution?

Lock the garborator up and hope the kids can find their eggs faster than the dog in the morning!

Fortunately, our kids are fabulous at scouting out candy. (Especially Jackson.) They had a blast and now we are all on serious sugar highs.

(We had way too much candy. The Easter Bunny didn't remember that he sent his assistant to get a bag full of candy so the night before Easter, he went out and bought two more bags!)

The kids have been gorging themselves on chocolate and sugar for two days and there is still a lot of junk left over. It looks like the Easter Bunny and his assistant will have to hide the remaining candy all over again . . . only this time, hopefully even the Easter Bunny himself won't find it!

Kinder Surprise Eggs: Love Them or Hate Them?

I personally hate them. Most kids don't like the chocolate part (or at least mine don't) and I hate the little toys inside that have a million pieces to try to put together and then find all over the house. So, natually the Easter bunny bought 12 of them!!

Avery really enjoyed her first Easter too--even though she didn't participate in the "hunt".

The Easter Bunny didn't really know what to get her so he brought some rice shucks, canned carrots, and of course, Kinder Surprise Eggs.

What else is in there?

Even Avery prefers bows to Kinder Surprise Eggs.

The rest of our Easter Day was spent at Church and then with the Templemans for a great dinner. (And, in hopes of pawning off more candy, another egg hunt.)

Kamikaze On Course!

When I first started ski racing, our little team had sweat shirts made that read: "Kamikaze On Course". (Kamikaze is the name of the Japanese pilots who flew suicide missions during World War II.)

Perhaps it was a foreshadow of what was in store for me 15 years later.
Jackson had his very first ski lesson on March 12, 2008. He was surprisingly very enthusiastic about it. Previously, he would just want to go to the day care area and play with toys, but today he could hardly wait to strap on Jayden's gear and go "ski". (Of course, I think he interpreted "skiing" as "riding the magic carpet up the hill".)
We were 20 minutes early and I had to do everything in my power to keep him at the bottom of the hill and not riding up the lift.

I tried to hold him off by carrying him up the hill a little way so he could get the feel of things, holding onto my hands. That didn't sit well with Mr. Independent. He told me immediately, "Mom, get out of my way! I'm skiing!"I love his instructor, Laura, because she has a "take no prisoners" attitude towards skiing. She gets the young kids on the steep hills right away and teaches them to "sink or swim".
Jackson did pretty well, considering he is still only 2. (We are obviously trying to raise superathletes to carry out Mom and Dad's dreams of being one themselves.)

His balance still needs a bit of work, and his attention span seems to turn to the snowmobiles and any bird flying over head, but he has natural skill. (According to Laura.) His "pizzas" were quite good and he really only fell a few times.Jackson went up the chairlift for his first time--and as an added bonus, he didn't jump off!When the lesson was over, they came down the first part of the big hill to where the ski racks were. Jackson was very disappointed that they weren't going all the way down again. A quick mention of getting a snack in the lodge with Mom prevented what could have been a nuclear meltdown.

After our day of skiing we had a long walk back to the car through a bit of mud. Mom and Jayden managed to avoid the larger puddles, but Jackson . . .

Well, they say a picture is worth a thousand words so I will leave it at that.

There's Snow Place Like Home!

Looking out our front door.

Well, another storm hit last weekend and we were sick of it! Instead of staying in like all the other sane people, we piled up the kids in the trooper and made Brad drive us around the GTA running errands and looking for ski jackets. (It seems as though our spring shopping wasn't hurrying the warm weather so we might as well prep for the ice age!)

It was odd being out on the highways that are normally parking lots--any time of the day, let alone rush hour!--and being one of the 30 cars out there.

Every where we went we were one of the few people, only the crazy, third generation Canadians were out in their ski jackets and four wheel drive trucks.

It almost felt like we were in one of those "end of the world" movies, driving around after a major disaster to see if there are any other humans left on the planet.

Towards the end of our trip, when things really started to get bad, we headed to Wal-Mart to pick up some blizzard essentials like a shovel and boots for Brad (now that we've been living in Canada for FOUR years and gone through about 7 blizzards this year alone, it's about time!). However, Wal-Mart only sold practical, SEASONAL merchandise like sandals and rakes!

So here are some photos of the aftermath. We woke up Sunday morning snowed in . . . and found a dead bird in our back yard that was being eaten by a falcon. But that's another story!

Our back yard (before the bird knocked himself out in our sliding door and got eaten)

Our van.

Brad shoveling our drive way with the neighbours.

As an aside, there is very little room between these houses and we are running out of room to store the snow so our neighbour shovels some on our side and then we shovel some back on his!

They say we are 20cm away from the all-time record 75 years ago so why quit now! With snow forcasted for Tuesday, Wednesday, and another storm on Saturday of this week alone, it shouldn't be too hard to reach!

Forever 29

Well, this is the last year that birthdays will count for me. It's a little scary to think that after this year...well, I will not age!

I guess it isn't necessarily the biological age that counts, but rather how old you are at heart. In my case, I think I am still 17--then I look around at three little kids and realize that I can't fool anyone and decide that 21 is more realistic!

This year's birthday was pretty good. Brad made breakfast--aka running to the local breakfast cafe and bringing home french toast, bacon, and eggs--and I would have had it in bed if I didn't have three early rising children who woke up while Brad was out.

I had the afternoon off to get my hair cut (finally after 4 months!) and then Brad and I went out--albeit with Avery, but still--for a great dinner and a movie. Avery was a great companion and loved the movie.

Right before we left the boys with Grandma and Grandpa, Brad had a brownie cheesecake ready for me with millions of candles. (I didn't actually count, and I am pretty sure there were under 10, but the cake was small so it felt as though the whole thing was going up in flames!)

Passing Time

In hopes that spring might make its way here--and soon!--we have been doing everything we can think of to pass the time indoors with two rambunctious boys.

Besides driving me up the wall (which doesn't take much effort these days!), here are some of their favourite activities:

Creating new hair dos for each other in the bath tub. (I did say that we were getting VERY desperate!)

Making monster puppets--a great Christmas present from Santa. The kids can mix and match, creating new monters with velcro pieces. Of course, you have to test the monster out and see if it will scare Mom!

Movies have gotten old, except for Lion King which is still fun for the first 20 minutes. After that, it breaks out into a game of Simba and Mufasa chasing after each other.

Making new best friends. Jackson has discovered where the dog biscuits and special Little Caesar's dog food is kept and has been feeding Guillermo as much as he can handle. (In other words: we find all the wrappers scattered all over the house.) Now they are BFF's.

And there are always riviting games of Hungry Hippo!

Snow, Snow, Go Away!

Oh my goodness!

Will it EVER STOP???!!??

Another storm is on its way and it will be a big one. Flurries are starting already and we are expecting about 1.5 ft and white out conditions.

Honestly, if global warming is drastically decreasing the snow in the north and south poles, we have PLENTY to give them, no charge!

After all of this, we had better have a FABULOUS and EARLY spring. And yes, I know that "April showers bring May flowers," but please Mother Nature, we have been cooped up all winter! Could you PLEASE let the rain fall at night??

Shop 'Til You Drop (Or Just Can't Bear It Anymore!)

After having one baby, you realize that life will never be the same . . . at least not for a very long time. Trips to just about any place take so much longer and require much more effort.

I like to relate going places with children as such:
One child slows you down to pace comparable to having a broken arm. You can get around and do the same things you once did, but it takes a little more time, effort, and planning.

Two children leave you with a severe handicap--like an amputated leg. Your mind still works, but your body just can't seem to get places it needs to be (in our case, that's chasing Jackson before he runs out of the store . . . and then the mall!).

But three children, ahh. That's pretty much paralyzing. Which is why, under most circumstances, I try to run errands while Jayden is in school, or at the very least, bring back up to the mall (aka Dad).

Even so, shopping is still challenging. Avery is happy to go anywhere and is a pleasant companion. Jayden is fairly good as long as he gets to go to his stores (Wal-Mart or Pottery Barn Kids), and Jackson . . . well, we all know and love our Jackson.

We went to the mall the other day to go look at spring clothing and shoes. (If we can't afford to fly somewhere sunny and warm to get away from all this white stuff, at least we can pretend by looking at warm weather clothing.)

No matter what we do with Jackson's hair, it always sticks up. So, I have enjoyed the winter weather requirement of putting a hat on him. However, on this shopping trip he decided it would be fun to "hide" under all the clothing racks. Of course, this ended up knocking the clothes off of them. The salespeople shouldn't be too mad though because while he was doing so, he had taken his hat off and was dusting the floors for them. Which meant that I had the choice of him having his hair stick out like a mad man or wearing a filthy, dust-filled fleece hat for the remainder of the shopping trip. I opted for the former choice.

To make sifting through more clothing stores a bit more manageable, I told Jackson that if he behaved we could go see the pets in the pet store after. When we were in the pet store we had to greet every animal. "Hi! I'm named Jackson." When I was at the register paying for a little present for our puppy, Jackson went missing. I couldn't find him anywhere. Finally, I found him at the ferrat stand, talking to the ferrats. "Hi, I'm named Jackson. What's your name?"

In order to bribe the boys to try on some shoes (and not run out of the store with shoes on their feet!), we had to agree to take them to what Jackson calls, "Potty Barn". (As odd as it may seem, our kids LOVE Pottery Barn Kids, I think even more than how much Mom loves Pottery Barn. Dad thinks I brainwashed the boys into loving it, but honestly, it is their own free will and choice.) Once inside, the boys have a great time playing with all the toys. Jayden usually finds some cars to play with and Jackson plays with the doll houses and kitchens--he loves to set the table and "eat".

On this occassion, Jayden fell in love with something special and so neat. He even had $5 of his own money he wanted to put towards it, but it still wasn't enough. We had to pull him from the store screaming and sobbing, "I want to buy my firetruck bedding!" (Brad was pretty embarrassed, not so much about the scene, but by the fact that his boy wanted new bedding so badly.)

It seems like some of Mom's infatuations are rubbing off on the kids. :)

Digging In!

After several weeks of obvious food interest (read: grunting and rocking towards what ever Mom or Dad are eating), Avery finally got to eat some of her own food. She was so excited to start "eating like the grown ups" that she gobbled up every last drop of her watered down cereal. I am sure it won't take too much longer for her to realize that not only does it not smell as tasty as everyone else's dinners, but it also doesn't taste near as good!

I wish she could help her big brothers realize how fabulous their dinners are--and convince them to eat their food. Currently, we are in a stale mate in regards to meal time. I refuse to make more than one meal, and they refuse to eat it. (Guillermo, on the other hand, has been very well fed--and not by adults.)

We can usually persuade Jayden to eat all of his dinner by enticing him with dessert or threatening bedtime. Jackson, on the other hand, is more than happy to go to bed hungry or sit in the corner (and actually asks to do so!). Of course, by 9pm he is out of bed scouring the house for any left over junk food that he has stashed.

Slowly Going Crazy?

I am slow-ly go-ing cra-zy . . . actually, I think I am riding a turbo jet to the insane asylum. And the kids, well I think they have passed "crazy" a few months ago.

Will this winter weather EVER end??? Just when you think that there can't be any more coldness left on the face of the planet; there aren't any more snow flakes that could possibly fall; or you can't fathom staying indoors with two rambunctious boys and a crazy puppy for another day . . . another storm comes your way. (Seriously, we had one last night and another tonight.) Insane . . . both the weather and myself!

I have learned that having a fenced in yard isn't really that helpful with young children in the winter . . . you spend about 20 minutes getting everyone ready to go out (then they need to go potty), another 30 minutes later they are out playing around in the snow. And, after only 5 minutes they are knocking at the door to come in--ready to leave several puddles in your house and a pile of wet clothing to clean up.

I have tried everything to entertain the boys inside--crafts, baking, reading, TV, locking them up ;)--but everything ends up in 5 minutes of distraction and then 30 minutes worth of mess to clean up.

I am doing my best to entice spring to come. (Or, at the very least, remind Mother Nature of her duty to help the rest of the mothers in the world out by hurrying spring.) I have sorted the spring clothing, I have starting spring cleaning and even tackled half of our garage. It seems as though we should be preparing for another Ice Age.

Even Guillermo is going a little insane, pleading with great urgency to exit the house and then barking incessantly outside, refusing to come back in. Of course, from about 4 pm on, he sits atop his favourite pearch to await Dad's arrival in hopes of something fun to do together. (If nothing else, it at least gives him an excuse to jump around and lick someone new.)

All I can say is, "Thank goodness for Hungry Hippo!" It has at least given me a few moments of peace. (If you can ignore the sound of plastic slamming against plastic in constant motion!)

Our Three Angels

After several months of a photography hiatus, I am now motivated enough to get back in the game. I took a couple of these shots from the last few days and will print them to hang in our dining area. Hopefully they will add some much needed "spring" feelings around here. This winter has been so long and harsh! (We got MORE snow today!)


Jayden, our sweetheart of a boy who is (usually) so kind and considerate. He adores art, but cars and trucks run a close second. Most days, he combines the two and draws pictures of trucks and cars.


Jackson, who adds enough mayhem to spice up our lives . . . and plenty of kisses to sweeten it. (As a side note, this is seriously how we see Jackson all the time . . . always eating something, and always getting messy. And Brad wonders why I take Jackson's shirt off when we go out for ice cream!)


Avery, our little doll. She is a pretty girl on the surface, but enough of a tom-boy on the inside (already!) to keep up with her brothers. Avery is a thrill seeker at heart and as of late enjoys throwing herself off the couch backwards . . . it's a good thing dad has fast reflexes!

The Master Artist and The Masterpiece

Can you tell which is whom?

A Morning in My Life

Morning, well, I'm not sure to call it a "morning"--I think that would mean that I would have had some sleep in the "night" before. Avery was up every hour, using me as a pacifier (she refuses to take one of the plastic ones, preferring instead to play "pacifier projectile" with them).

I had 20 minutes to shower, get dressed, get all the kids dressed and fed and take Jayden to school. That isn't as easy as it sounds though because it always involves nagging, begging, and threatening . . . and in the case of Jackson, I have to come up with some elaborate story of the dinosaurs or monsters who are coming if we don't get dressed quickly enough. Then, since this is Canada after all, there is the snow suit wiggle.

Even after dropping Jayden off, Avery is still screaming. It seems she is a bit tired from our all night party. I drive to the grocery store and just before I get there, "ding" my van goes on empty. I figure I will chance it a little longer (Brad has made it all the way up to his parents with the light on, surely I could run on empty for a day or two of in-town driving!). We get to the store, out of the van, (Avery has now fallen asleep--thank goodness!) and hike up in the freezing cold (and I mean COLD, minus 20) to the door . . . that has now FROZEN SHUT!! We walk around to the other door while the wind tosses us and blows the blanket off Avery exposing her to the weather and daylight . . . and, of course, consciousness.
Jackson refuses to sit in the cart, which I can't argue with anymore because he is just too big to be squeezing in and out of the kiddie seat anyway. So I am forced to play hide and seek with him around the grocery store . . . hoping that I will in deed find him. Preferrably BEFORE he samples some food, or runs out the exit and into the street.

As we get in the second door, Avery is screaming her head off, Jackson is wandering aimlessly infront of the cart--which I can't see because of the big car seat--and I run him over. So now he is screaming. Clearly, this will be a great shopping trip, I think to myself.

The shopping part went all right. I got everything on my list, plus a few extras thanks to Jackson and this cute Easter Egg Wreath that I found. I went to great pain to find one that was perfect, without any blemishes or broken eggs on it.

On our way out of the produce section, Jackson decided he was going to stay a while and took his coat off and left it somewhere. Nothing spices up grocery shopping without a few fun games! Next time, I will for sure bring my camera. It might take my mind off sobbing or yelling.

We got up to the check out and for some reason, the managers consistantly put their slowest cashiers on during the days!! I don't understand why they feel that mothers of little whiny, screaming children don't deserve to get checked out quickly! Ours was PAINFULLY slow. Avery was absolutely screaming at this point, Jackson was picking out chocolate bars and putting them on the conveyor belt. Usually he does this when our groceries are up there, but our cashier was so slow, the groceries belonged to the man in front of us. I am sure he was surprised to find 6 chocolate bars in his bags upon his return home.

When I stopped Jackson from doing that, he found a Lindt Truffle ball and unwrapped it while I wasn't looking. Then he smushed it in his hands. Avery was still screaming. I was helpless. Do I try to take control of my Jackson? Do I unload my groceries? Do I pick up my screaming child and try to help the other shoppers enjoy their morning? I decided that groceries were more important, and maybe the cashier might get annoyed with the screaming enough to start hurrying things up.

She did try to hurry. Even Jackson tried to help. He took the bags off the counter and tried to put them in the cart. The only thing was he refused any help and ripped the bags pulling them off the counter, and then emptied them putting them in the cart. The cashier took my prized wreath and smushed it between an overloaded cart and the top shelf of the cart (our grocery carts are somewhat double deckered).

On my way out I stopped to put Avery back in her car seat before braving the wind and cold while Jackson made himself at home on a leather armchair near the exit. When I finished buckling Avery up I looked over for Jackson . . . He had disappeared!

I finally found him running around the foyer and we made our way through the icy slush in the parking lot to our car.

Now we are home and I have the joy of unloading the groceries and putting them away . . . feeding Avery quickly and picking Jayden up again.

Jayden, A Model Big Brother

I just thought I would write a bit about how great Jayden has been the last few days.

Last night I put the boys to bed, but apparently I didn't read enough stories to them. So, Jackson hiked up to the top bunk where Jayden had oodles of their books and read all of them (by memorization) to him. When he was done, he tucked Jackson in on the foot of the bed and there they slept until 6:30am this morning. (We weren't thrilled about the wake up call by the way.)

We headed off to eat breakfast out for Ontario's first Family Day (a new holiday we've adopted from Alberta). While waiting for our food, the boys were coloring their placemats. Jayden looked over at Jackson's and said, "Wow, Jackson. You are doing a great job. I think you will be a great artist one day. Even though I see that you are scribbling, I can tell that you are using a lot of colors and are practicing to be as good as me. I am so proud of you."

It's a good thing we have these wonderful moments with our kids. It is just as effective for relief as a gong would be.