A Whole New World

I am the first one to admit that I have been really lacking on my attempt at a witty blog about my everyday life raising twin boys and a lovely daughter.

That being said I am feeling more inspired to write whether it is a blog about how crazy my life raising 3 kids has been or just a rant about myself in general, I find myself sitting here in a bit of a haze.

When my daughter was born she was a very easy baby, laid back and always wondering what was going on in the world. She was not the best sleeper until she was 18 months and even now at almost 5 years old she has the odd night where she can't fall asleep, or has a nightmare (but who hasn't these days). She never attempted to climb out of the crib or got into trouble of that mischievous sort you hear about when kids are 2-3 years old. My boys on the other hand...

Since they were born they were a handful (but as I was immediately outnumbered 2-1 in the baby to adult ratio - it's understandable). They just turned 2 and about 3 weeks before their birthday I knew we were in trouble! My oldest twin figured out how to remove his diaper - now this was funny at first but all I could think about when it was happening night after night was I really hoping that the contents of the diaper would not end up in his brother's crib! (Thankfully it only stayed in the confines of his own barred domain).

Now for the "terrible two's" I actually wouldn't say they were terrible, but 3 days after their 2nd birthday, both my boys decided it was time to explore their bedroom at night and proceeded to climb into each other's crib as well as escape by climbing out of their cribs onto the floor. My husband and I are now on nightly watches from bedtime until they are on the verge of falling asleep. We have mastered the art of giving the look of "you better lay your little butt down or else" so that the time we are up there is diminishing (perhaps we will have our evenings to ourselves sometime again). We debated whether to switch from a crib to a bed but I am really not ready for that stage in sleepless nights so therefore the boys are not ready : )

The other part of the title of this post is that my first born in entering into Kindergarten. Tomorrow is the first day of school and I don't know who is more nervous me or her. She was at playschool last year so I know she can handle being away from "mommy" during the day...I just have all the same fears that every parent holds the first time your child starts something new. Will she make friends? Will she do well at what she is being taught? Is this the right school for her? Can I get her to school on time with toddlers in tow?

I lay here awake with my husband sleeping soundly typing this and waiting for myself to feel sleepy...Now I have to be able to actually function every morning...I haven't done that in 2 years since I was at work... We are now embarking on a "Whole New World"

Valentines

Valentines is a holiday that honestly I can take it or leave it. 
Is is nice to get flowers???of course, but do I need a specific day for my husband to show me he cares with over-priced flowers? no. A month ago he came home the day after a horrible day I had with the kids with a nice bouquet of flowers in hand. I felt appreciated and it made me feel like I really am not that bad of a mom/wife or person in general. That being said it is a nice reminder for everyone to let people know how one feels.

At playschool, my daughter was having a valentines PJ party and exchanging cards. It was such a crazy week last week (with my grandma and mom flying out to Toronto) that I completely forgot to get the little cards that the kids can exchange, and I sent my daughter to her very first class valentines party empty-handed... I felt like a tool and promised myself that next year I will do better. Well my Mother-in-Law came to the rescue and picked up a package of cards and dropped it off at preschool. What a life saver!

I think that when I go shopping next I will pick up a package of the valentines cards to save for next year. Knowing me I will probably put them somewhere and forget where I put them and be in the same boat next year with no cards in hand for distribution. Someday I will have a brain that remembers things right???

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 Jo, Divulge with Dani, and Brooding Woman) to see what they love about fall.

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

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!

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,

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.