Friday, September 27, 2013

Friday's Top Five - Things I Love About Fall

I'm going to give this a try, as I can barely find time to just sit some days but here goes...

I am one of those odd people that love every season! Yes even that winter season where you are essentially hibernating in your house some days or even weeks due to the cold weather. Before I had kids this wasn't the case, but now when I have to worry about frost bite and them being cold it's a whole other story (but later on that). 



What do I love about Fall?

5) The colours

Granted in Edmonton we don't get to see the vibrant reds and yellows that other provinces see (Toronto) but we get our fair share of really pretty colours. I love seeing the leaves turn and giving that one day of hazy blast of colour when you look in the river valleys just before all the leaves fall.

4) Cooler nights...

After a hot summer, where it just doesn't seem to cool off and your house feels like the inside of an oven, I love when you get into your bed and the sheets are cold. Your body warms them up and you can have a nice cozy sleep. It's also the ideal time when your window can still be open at night and it's not too cold when you sleep. 

Again this is a short lived time as you will quickly figure out when you sit on a really cold toilet seat in the morning (like sitting in an outhouse) that it may be time to shut the windows for the season in preparation for winter.

3) Thanksgiving

A time when you can eat all the turkey and stuffing you want and not feel guilty about it? Who wouldn't? Just like the "Friends" episode when joey wears his stretchy pants for the occasion...this is the one holiday where I actually consider fishing out my maternity pants just so I don't feel uncomfortable after the great turkey dinner.



2) Halloween

As much as kids don't need as much candy as they get...I have always loved Halloween. When I stopped going trick or treating (in grade 10) I got the job at home of handing out the candy. I still got dressed up and answered the door in some costume. I think the funniest time was when I was dressed as a bunny. I didn't realize it until after (when my husband told me) that I may have looked like a playboy bunny, but a dad came to the door with his kids. After I gave the kids their candy they ran to the next house and the father was still just standing there. I also didn't realize that as I was handing out the candy my sister came down the stairs all dressed up for a party she was going to as a dominatrix. I am sure that dad volunteered every year after that episode to take his kids just to see what my sister and I would be wearing the following years.

Now that I have kids, I love getting their costumes together and setting them up for their "outting". Their dad takes them around to our family as they are still very young and don't realize what it's all about yet. but they still come back with a container full of candy. 

1) Knowing that the next season is just around the corner...

As I said earlier, I love all seasons and by the end of the fall (usually after Thanksgiving) I am getting into winter mode. I anticipate that first snowfall, but most of all I look forward to my absolute favourite holiday, Christmas!

Wow...I am amazed that I was able so sit down and get this all written in one sitting! now to jump over to my buddies blogs (A Warm Cup of JoDivulge with Dani, and Brooding Woman) to see what they love about fall.

Saturday, September 21, 2013

Friday's Top Five - Things I Did This Summer

I have a few friends ( A Warm Cup of Jo and The Brooding Woman) who do this Friday's Top Five Blog and I thought I would pitch in this time around. I really can't believe how fast this summer has gone by and I am holding on to every nice day until we are stuck inside for 6 months of the year...

I really didn't do anything overly exciting this summer but we had a good time to say the least. Kids outside almost every day playing in the backyard and working on the garden, but we did do some really great things this summer as well.

5) First Family Vacation

Our summer really started on the May Long weekend when my husband and I decided to take our first family vacation. This was the first really family vacation that was just my husband, myself, my daughter and the boys...no inlaws in any way!

We thought where would be a good place for a 3 year old and a set of 9 month olds? The Calgary zoo was our first thought * and then my husband thought that since we are so close to Drumheller, why not there as well.

So here we are all packed up (you think we were moving there with the car load of stuff) on our way to Calgary. We had to stop in Red Deer for a bathroom break, and the boys really needed to stretch their legs. Starbucks is the newest coffee stop and we took up the entire 4 tables in the back corner so the kids could crawl. After a small stop we were off again foolishly thinking that the kids would sleep in the car ** we made it to Calgary for our adventure to begin!

After an OK sleep that night and a brief nap in the morning we were off to the zoo. 



We had a great time going through all the exhibits and with no afternoon naps I was expecting really cranky boys but they were troopers and enjoyed it just as much as the rest of us!

Drumheller was our next stop on the way home and finally we were able to get a small nap on the way there from all the kids.




It has been years since I had been to Drumheller and the landscape was amazing and felt like you were in a completely different part of the world! I remember the museum being a lot bigger than it was, but isn't everything big when you are a kid?


4) Went to a friend's PotLuck

Spending time with friends and family is such an important thing for me that when we got the invitation to go to a summer potluck from my friend Jo we jumped at the chance.

We really don't spend a lot of time with friends but when we all get together you would think that we see each other every day...it seems that we just pick up right where we left off from the last time we saw each other! What a great way to spend time and have our kids play and burn off a bunch of energy!


3) Got some projects done

I decided at the beginning of the summer that this was the year that I got some things done around the house! I started painting my main floor on the rainy days *** and I am pleased to say that as of this blog I have 2 walls left to paint in my stairwell. 

I decided to dig up this huge garden in the backyard and make it smaller. I discovered that the previous owners must have ordered a ton of rocks to put in this garden because I have a small quarry in the backyard.

The last project that I have started and still need to complete (one side left) is that I am blocking off the underside of my porch so that my dog doesn't go under and dig.


2) Celebrated a Year!

A year ago August we welcomed our twin boys and this summer we celebrated their first birthday! 



We only had a small family gathering but it was a blast. We discovered that the boys love cake to the point that when David was done eating his piece he tried to steal Victor's piece off his plate!


1) Did a little something for me

This August was the end of my Maternity Leave and I decided that my family comes first and Quit My Job!

I have had to change my way of thinking in that I am not going to a job everyday in an office, but I am working full time as a mom. My kids are my pride and joy and I love spending every waking moment with them! Granted we have our challenges  in the days, but they are only little once so I might as well enjoy it!

It has been scary and a bit hard at first to wrap my head around the idea of not working, since being an admin assistant has been a part of who I am for 15 years. Will I miss the politics of work? Not at all! Will I miss the people? absolutely! The interactions you have with adults and people at work are completely different, but so is your interaction with your kids. I don't think there is a day that goes by that I regret my decision!

The video is a perfect description for an at home mom...




I have also decided that to do something for myself (other than quitting my job) is to teach something that I love to do. I have signed up to be a cake decorating instructor! This will give me time to do something outside the house and a "break" from our everyday routine.

All in all I have had a pretty good summer! 



*Good thing too, since a few months later it was flooded out
** The boys fell asleep 30 minutes outside of Calgary
***During naps is a great time to get things done without little kids

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

What a Year

As I sit here typing in the few moments before I have to go to one of the kids or go to bed before anyone wakes up I am amazed at how fast this last year has gone by. There were lots of times (I think more in the first 6 months) that both my husband and I thought we were drowning, and this can't be done...but we made it! 

A year ago, we were a family of 3 waiting and doing everything we could think of to have these boys. My mom came over and walked me around the block about 10 times (we live in a cul-de-sac) to try to induce labour. She even took my daughter for the night "just in case". Well I think she has some form of ESP because after a lovely dinner just me and my husband we were in the hospital welcoming our bundles of joy.



Everyday has had new challenges, I was so sleep deprived that I had no idea who I was feeding in the night and I am sure on some nights one or the other was fed twice and the other "was just fussy" (little did I realize that he was probably hungry). I tried to do the double feeding to save time it it worked most of the time, but there was one night when the boys were swaddled really tightly and I put David on the foot stool of the rocking chair while I got Victor out of the crib. Next thing I knew, David had rolled off the stool (I hit it with my foot causing it to rock) and was lying face down on the floor) he was crying a little but I think it was more out of hunger than anything else. While I was feeding them I was giggling to myself trying to not make noise causing everything to jiggle and I am sure making it a bit of a challenge for the boys to eat.

Now that the year has come and gone I have seen the boys  develop into their own person while keeping that "twin" connection. David (the older one) is very determined and wants to figure everything out and copy what you do. If something doesn't work for him he has such a temper...fists will clench, he will turn red in the face and then out comes the cry. It is getting a little old, but at the same time still funny. Victor is the adventurous one...he will climb on anything, climb into anything and pull on anything. I am sure that down the road if someone is going to get a broken bone or stitches it will be Victor. 

The "twinness" comes in usually at bed times, if the boys are not tired at all they will usually play through the cribs with each other, and when I come in to check they quickly whip around and stand up as if they are guilty of something and try to look innocent. If Victor is taken out of the room after naps and David is still asleep when he wakes up and realizes that Victor is not in bed I will hear quite a cry and he is very upset, and usually will not calm down until he is downstairs in the same room with his brother.

I talk a lot about the boys, but Gillian is a great kid in all this excitement from day to day. She had to make a lot of adjustments not only as a big sister that was going to have to deal with a new baby, but there were two! In the early days, she was a little put out that these new boys were taking all of mummy's time, but has since become a huge help. She loves to play with the boys and showing them how to make trains and building towers. I am sure that we will have many more play days ahead before she is "tired" of playing with her brothers. She is my little pumpkin and we still have our one-on-one time grocery shopping and making crafts while the boys sleep.

Our world as we know it and planned how it would be was turned upside down in a good way. We have learned to expect the unexpected and to go with the flow. Everyday is an adventure!

Saturday, June 8, 2013

Terrible Three's

I was watching Super Nanny a few years ago and there was this family with a totally disobedient child. He was abusive to his parents by yelling and screaming and hitting everybody in sight. This kid was 6 years old and I thought to myself...wow what kind of parents would let their kid be like that!

Until I was a parent myself I really didn't understand the determination and independence that a toddler tries to figure out. It amazes me at how a child can concentrate so hard and keep trying until they figure out whatever they are trying to do. Their frustration comes out by crying when something they want to do doesn't work and all smiles when it goes their way. My daughter is 3 (almost 4 years old) and the most determined little girl I know! She will get so frustrated when something isn't working and come running to either me or my husband for help. We will show her and if it is still frustrating her after we have shown her how to do something, we will get her to take a breath and try to work through the problem until she figures it out herself. We are doing this to try and help develop her problem solving skills.

We have had our ups and downs and last Saturday I thought that we could have been on one of those reality shows that have children acting out in the most crazy ways that the parents need someone to come in to help with the discipline. My daughter was happliy having her bath and when it was her time to come out she told me to "get out". Well, this did not go over well with a very tired mum and I picked her up right out of the tub and carried this naked, screaming and squirming little girl to her room. As calmly as I could and not saying a thing (all the while thinking.,,who is this demon child) I got her dried off and dressed and put her into bed. The next thing I knew after closing her door and walking downstairs to do the dishes, I hear screaming for "daddy" and she was either kicking or hitting the wall. (without a video monitor I really can't tell). When she didn't get the attention she was after she moved to hitting the door with both fists and still screaming. My husband then took control of the situation and went upstairs to deal with this demon child.

I felt terrible but totally spent...I now know how those reality TV parents felt, and how easily one can be driven to drink. This only happened one time, but when the saying goes the "terrible twos" I think the person had the age wrong. It is the terrible three's. The toddler is trying to figure out her independence and when they don't get it all hell breaks loose. This is also the time when most kids drop naps altogether, but are still in need of one. That's another topic...how to get a toddler to nap when they need to. My daughter has dropped all naps and once in a blue moon will actually take one, and on this particular day she really needed a nap!

I am crossing my fingers that this doesn't happen again,

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Sanity Vs. Insanity

Wow, I look back on the posts and realize that I haven't done this in a long time. I did warn you in advance that with twins and a toddler that I may not post that often. I have a few posts on the go, but haven't had time to just sit down and write.

Last weekend was a long weekend and my husband and I thought that we needed a "family vacation". Since the boys are 9 months right now it's really hard to figure out where to go that will be good for us and the kids until we realized that we are parents now and what kids doesn't love the zoo?

So this is where to Sanity Vz. insanity comes into play...We decided to pack everyone up in the car just after lunch and take the 3 hour drive to Calgary and spend the weekend (2 nights) to go to the zoo and then to the Tyrell Museum (2 hours away). The kids did really well in the car to Red Deer where we unpacked them and went to Starbucks for a coffee fix and a chance for the toddler to go to the bathroom (working on toilet training while traveling is tricky) and the twins to burn off a little bit of energy before being strapped in for another car ride until our destination for the night in Calgary.

We made it without incident and settled in for the night where within 20 minutes of arriving I had a screaming kid in my arms who's fingers just got closed in the bathroom door, and the other twin is quickly locating the telephone book and deciding that it doesn't need a few pages. My little girl was happily playing with the nintendo ds that I brought for "emergency". I felt really sorry for our neighbours and hoped that the boys wouldn't be heard very loudly as they cried for 30 minutes before finally falling asleep for the night.

The next day we went down for our breakfast and hogged the only 2 high chairs that the hotel had but I wasn't about to have one on my lap and try to feed cereal backwards while the other gets into trouble with exploring. The boys actually went down for a nap really well and slept for 2 hours before we ventured out to the zoo. Our thinking was that the boys would have a nap we would go to the zoo have some lunch and they would be ready for a nap...Nope. We went the entire zoo with the boys looking around and they didn't fall asleep until 3pm (their usual nap time is 130). Our daughter loved all the animals and wanted to see everything. She was exhausted by the end but couldn't stop talking about the animals.

That night I was done physically and David decided he was so overtired that he couldn't sleep so from 1am until 3am (when I had had enough and dosed him with Camilla) he decided that every 20 minutes or so he would cry. Since the boys were in our room I woke up and tried my best to keep him quiet, but as soon as I put him down and got comfortable myself he decided that it was time to cry again. By the morning I was exhausted but for the good of the children I put on my happy face and we got everyone ready to travel to Drumheller for the "Dinosaur" museum. I was totally different than when I went about 20 years ago but exciting none-the-less. Again the boys would not sleep their normal afternoon nap until 3:30pm, and then it was only for about 1/2 hour. Our daughter wanted my husband to read her everything about every dino (which was great, but after a bit was a little tiring)...he still needs to learn that until she can read herself, he can skip over lots without her knowing :) I am glad that she has such interest in dinosaurs.

And now for the insanity part. We packed everyone up for the final drive home and thankfully the boys decided that it was finally time to sleep. we had an hour of quiet with our daughter coloring quietly in the car. We stopped for dinner and then about 20 minutes outside of red deer David decided that he had enough of being strapped in (I don't blame him) and cried (screamed) for 40 minutes straight. It passed the drive time, but we could have done without the noise.

All in all, the trip was a success and everyone had a great time, but I have learned a few things about traveling with twins. I have traveled with a baby and a toddler before but not twins in a 4 hour car ride...

1) Even though you think that traveling during nap time is a great idea...usually the baby/babies think differently.

2) Make sure you have lots in the car in the way of things to drink, eat and things for the toddlers to do. Coloring books are a good suggestion.

3) Take lots of breaks so the kids and yourself can stretch. Babies have a lot of energy that needs to be burned off and without activity they will just be miserable.

4) Go with a good attitude, you will not get a lot of down time and will probably ready to snap, but thinking that you rarely get to go on a holiday will get you through the trip in one piece.

Monday, April 22, 2013

Monday Madness

Well it's Monday again and this weekend was a busy one. You think I have learned after having my daughter that weekends are crazy on our schedule without adding family outings and other "stuff". Well the answer to that question is I don't...

Friday night we (my husband, myself and our daughter) ventured out the the Waterpark and had a great time. We knew it would be a late night as the event didn't start until 7:30pm and our daughter's bedtime is 8:00pm. This was a special night with just Mom and Dad :) Well we had a great time, Grandma babysat the boys so we were able to enjoy ourselves. A little self discovery is that I really don't like waterslides (this was the first time I did one in 4 years), and I am around kids to much during the day when I am excited as a teenager when going to the waterpark for our annual event. Time went so quickly that before I knew it, it was 9:45pm and I needed to get my little one to bed. I left my husband there to get a ride home so he could enjoy it a little more and I took her home. She was an absolute zombie but crawled into bed and actually slept in until 7:45am the next morning. She still talks about it and is asking when she can go back.

Saturday worked out to be another afternoon away from the boys, but that is so my husband and I could go to the car show. When we bought my Rav4 2 years ago we were anticipating only 2 kids in car seats so we opted not to get the 3rd row seats that were an option. Now realizing that for any type of holiday it is going to be a tight squeeze in the car with 3 car seats in one row (they look like squished sausages), a dog and all our stuff. We have talked about getting a truck for awhile...so off to the car show. Wow lots of cars and some really nice...if I had $98,000 I would get a really nice buick SUV but really??? Who with kids has that kind of money to spend on a car?

Sunday you think would be the day that we would take is "easy"...nope! The day was actually pretty quiet, naps were actually on schedule and I actually was able to take a morning nap! The evening is when I really should have put my foot down and said no, but alas I went along with kids, diaper bags and booster seats in tow. Our outing consisted of going to my in-laws for dinner. Now on occasion I really don't mind but this is EVERY SUNDAY! 

Don't get me wrong I am really glad that my kids will have a good relationship with their grandparents, and cousins, but there is such a thing as a little too much family! I really don't think this is the place to get into all the details about our visits, but what I really don't like about every sunday is that we don't end up leaving to go home until well after 7:30 pm and the kids ultimately suffer. They are late going to bed and often don't fall asleep right away and are miserable until they do drift off. Then the night falls and we are usually up an average of 3 times, not to mention they are then awake for the day at 6:00 am. Naps on Monday are usually a hit and miss and by the end of the day I am ready to explode at someone, but hold it in usually mumbling to myself when my husband is in the 1/2 hour shower when the kids are screaming and need to be held. How nice it must be to have a 1/2 hour shower...I am lucky if I get one a week!

So here we are Monday again and I was just able to get the boys down for the morning nap...who knows how long it will last but I will take what I can get!

Now if we can only get through the week without any chaos that would be the ideal world in our house :)

Monday, April 15, 2013

Twins

The day that you get that BFP (big fat positive) on a pregnancy test your world changes. You have a mix of emotions from excitement to fear to uncertainty. Whether you are a first time mom or veteran these emotions are there every time. After the initial reaction your mind starts racing as to what you need to do and get before your bundle of joy arrives. Yes, usually when you find out you are expecting you usually have another 8 months to get things done but that doesn't stop an expectant mother from planning. It's like an excited bride...you want to get everything done early so that you can enjoy the rest of the time with no stress. You may or may not feel pregnant in the early days (I know didn't) but as soon as you have that first Dr. appointment when you hear the heart beat for the first time your feelings about the pregnancy solidify. Then there is the first ultrasound...

With both my pregnancies the first time I was able to see the baby was at the 19 week anatomy scan ultrasound. There is excitement and butterflies in my stomach as I sat in the waiting room with a very full bladder. (NOTE: When the dr. says to drink a liter of water before your appointment...don't! As a pregnant woman you only need a 1/2 liter at the most). My name is called to then go to the ultrasound room. The lights dim and the monitor is turned on. After what seems like an eternity the tech has finally located the location of the baby to start the scan. This time around the tech asked me if I was measuring larger than normal. I expected to show sooner because this was my second pregnancy...well the next thing he said changed our world forever. There were 2 babies! We were speechless...The next 20 weeks were filled with monthly Dr. Appointments, routine ultrasounds and non-stress tests. We were waiting and hoping that everything would be good. Twins are normally born between 36-38 weeks and again I make a comfortable home for my little bundles. At 39 weeks to the day my water broke and I was in labour. As told in my previous blog I had a very fast delivery and we welcomed two baby boys.

Once we arrived home the reality of twins hit. They slept and we cuddled until about 2am when they both woke up and cried. My husband and I tried everything to get them to sleep, I fed them, changed them and we rocked and paced the living room together. In the end I realized I made a first time mom mistake...they were cold. I didn't realize this until 2 hours later and being very frustrated. Our next few weeks we passed by learning about babies all over again. Twins are really not much different from one baby, except everything takes more time. At night in the beginning, it took me 2 hours to feed and burp both babies and then I would get about an hour sleep before we were up again for the next feed. The first 3 months were a blur and I am really thankful that my husband took a month off work and family was around to help every day.

In those first few months I became pretty good at feeding them together (this saved a ton of time), changing a poopy diaper in record time as I usually had another baby crying for a change, and mastered the art of picking up two babies, cuddling them at the same time and figuring out how to put one baby in the crib while holding the other without waking either up.

There were lots of challenges and lots of tears along the way in the these last 8 months and what I have learned is that you really do need to take one day at a time.

Other tips are:

- Your noise level in the house will never be quite again and when you actually do have silence you really don't know what to do with it.

- Twins really do want to be fed at the same time, and need diaper changes at the same time (at least until they start to eat solids)

- As much as one may be crying at night, the other will eventually learn to sleep through.

- It takes twice as long to get out of the house with twins and a toddler in tow. On average it will take me 30 minutes to get everyone ready and packed up and in the car before we can go anywhere.


The boys are now crawling (they learned really early - 6 months) and are doing stairs so they tend to take advantage of when I am getting one out of trouble, the other will do something else. The other day I was making lunch for the kids and I hear crying. I drop what I am doing to investigate and found Victor is standing and holding what little hair David has in his fist while David is trying to sit down. I couldn't help but chuckle to myself as I released his grip, as I thought...and so it begins!

I really can't imagine what my life would be like without my kids and everyday is an adventure.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Life as we new it...

Now that I kinda understand how blogging works I thought I would write about how my life has changed for the better in the last 5 years (Warning this will be a long post). Not that I had a terrible life before...I had a great childhood, but I married the love of my life and created my beautiful family.

6 years ago my now husband proposed upon a ledge at the Grand Canyon with my best friends around. Now you need to understand that my husband and I had been dating for 13 years at this point and have gone on a few "mini" vacations together where I thought "this is it...we are going to get engaged". Up until that point at the Grand Canyon I had absolutely no idea that this was going to be the trip that he would propose. I was surprised and thrilled at the same time. To have our friends around made this a very special memory to us.

Fast forward a year and our beautiful daughter was born. I was lucky with that pregnancy in that I put on 39 pounds and was very uneventful in terms of medical risks and such. In fact I made it such a comfortable home in my tummy that my daughter decided to stay put for an extra 12 days. The day before she was scheduled to be induced, she decided that is was time to introduce herself to the world. With a 3 and a half hour labour she was born at 6:49am with no complications and welcomed with open arms. She is now almost 4 years old and an absolute joy. We play and do crafts and she is a huge help with her brothers.

When I say brothers I mean twin boys. A year ago last week my husband and I went to our routine 19 week ultrasound for the first time and discovered to everyones surprise (including the doctor) that there were 2 babies. We were shocked and I think the first thought that went through my husband and my mind was "how did this happen and what are we going to do now?" we were only planning on 2 kids and here we are expecting two at one time, making out kid count 3. Once the shock wore off with us (which took a few months) and our family we were in the nesting and planning stage. 2 of everything...this is going to be expensive I thought. Well being frugal I managed to find a crib exactly like our daughter's online that had never been used and half the price of what we paid 3 year earlier.

In August (after a typical singleton pregnancy) at 39 weeks (totally not normal for twins) I gave birth to healthy twin BOYS. We were not expecting boys...I was shocked but upon seeing them for the first time in total love with my boys. I was expecting the birth to be a little different from my first...mainly because there were 2 to be born, but I was mistaken. This time around my water broke at home (thankfully in the toilet) and we quickly went to the hospital. I was prepared for the worst scenario...the possibility of a natural birth for the first twin and a c-section for the second. Well luckily I was able to have both boys naturally but not without a little drama in the delivery room. Baby B decided to flip from a head down position to a foot first position(my biggest fear) so he was literally pulled out by his feet. After 2 hours in the NICU my second born baby boy was in my arms and I was never going to let them go!

Once home (2 days later) we quickly settled into a routine of feeding, diapers and babies sleeping, but with a 3 year old toddler whose naps were starting to become few and far between I was luck to get the odd afternoon when all 3 kids were sleeping at the same time. When they say "sleep when baby sleeps" I think they mean when you are a first time mum because there is no way that a second time mum will be able to sleep at the same time when you want to spend time with your toddler to have them feel like they are still as important to you even though there is another baby/babies in the house. We have had our challenges but after 8 months we are surviving and thriving as a family of 5 and I would not change a moment for anything. More about the challenges of twins in a later post :)

Monday, April 8, 2013

A New Season...New Beginnings

Welcome to my blog...I have never done this before but then again in life what have we done before. I don't know if this is how it's done but here is a little about myself

I am a mom of a beautiful 3 1/2 year old daughter and cute 8 month old twin boys, I love to bake and decorate cakes for people and have a wonderful husband family and friends. That being said it's a little crazy around here at times :)

As the title says it's a new season and a new beginning. I have struggled with my weight for a long time, but to look at me you would not guess the number on the scale, but after the birth of my boys I have developed the mummy tummy (I had it after my daughter) and a little bit of the dreaded "twin skin". That is where your belly has stretched so much that the skin kinda sags. My tummy looks like a deflated balloon and not to mention the stretch marks. I never knew that they could run horizontally and vertically. I am in no way ashamed of my stretch marks (I view them as my tiger stripes). What I don't like and I am going to work on is the number on the scale and getting my stomach back to a relatively normal shape. 




That is where this blog comes in...I think that if I have a place where I can vent my frustrations and successes by writing it down I will be a little more accountable for my actions and will have success this time around. I am hoping to at least write once a week, but if I don't well...with 3 kids on the move you can understand.

Now on to the day's accomplishments...

With only 4 hours of sleep last night I have managed to eat what I had planned for the day and I have done my fist day of Mom's into Fitness exercise program. 30 minutes of kickboxing, and weight resistance and core. I am tired but feel better that I have done it. Now the challenge is to stick with it! My usual pattern is do the first 2-3 days and then feel too sore and tired and don't do anymore. This is a 60 day program and I am committed to making this work!

Now for my bragging in the kids department...

My daughter is loving being a big sister and is learning to play with her brothers instead of just playing. It helps that her brothers are at the age that they are curious about everything and she loves showing them how things work.
The boys are crawling and doing stairs so we have baby gates everywhere so that I can make sure that no one will fall without me looking as their favourite pastime is to go in different directions. They are in full teething mode and my first born son now has 4 teeth and is working on number 5 and the second born son is working on teeth number 3 and 4. It makes for short naps and sleepless nights. They are my pride and joy so for this short time I will endure the unhappiness of the boys and try to ease the teething pain with popsicles and cold wash clothes.

Thank you in advance for reading the rants of a stay at home mum. I love being at home with my kids and would not change anything for the world.

 - Bronwyn -