Flashback

Clearing out pictures off the phone tonight and came across this one from a few months ago.......ahh enjoying a slushie in Hawaii.  With the colder weather coming it sure makes me miss it!  Looking through pictures, some that are even just a few months old, you realize just how much older the kids look in such a short time!

Getting ready for the holiday season

Eeeek the holiday season is quickly approaching and even quicker it seems for parents who are expecting another set of twins around then hahaha!  Baby prep has started slowly but I have almost all of our Christmas shopping done. That's right, crazy I know, everything that is left can be bought from amazon if I have the babies early or end up in the hospital for any reason.  We will start our Christmas decorating in another two weeks or so and then we can officially start sitting back and enjoying the Christmas season.  This year we will be making a few things for each other for Christmas (all things that if we don't get them done it can wait until another holiday hahaha).  So last night Mathew and I sat down and started working on his gifts for his brothers and soon to be sisters.  This year he decided to make everyone a personalized towel.  A few weeks ago he and I decided exactly what material to get.  Joshua and I made the trip to Joanne's on 'sale' day and I scored exactly what he wanted.  Then he decided on the colours of towels that would best match the fabric.  We prewashed all the towels and material and ironed it about a week ago.  It was so cute to see him writing his lists of what we need to get for who and then working so hard on the products.  Yes I did help a lot but it is great to get to do a project with them while they learn things along the way.  He worked hard on measurements and learning how to add measurements together.  He also learned about a few simple sewing machine stitches and was in heaven controlling the "gas pedal".  Good work little guy, I am sure your siblings with love it!

On a side note Mommy may love it even more. With the new twins arriving that will make 5 little ones in the house. Laundry for 5 will be crazy especially when the oldest are 7.  They can help somewhat but most of the laundry is still left up to mommy.  Clothes we have a system but towels are out of control!  With all the baths, showers and just hand towels they add up.  Towels get left on the floor, in the wrong bathrooms, no one can remember which ones they used etc...  So now each of the kids will have their own customized towel so I am hoping they can reuse (within reason) and cut down on all the abandoned towels around the house.  One of my first steps to try and expedite my laundry pile; let's hope it works :)

 

A string of Ghosts

I have to admit it, I might be addicted to things on pinterest.  In my defense, I am a mommy who loves to do fun activities and crafts with the kids so pinterest just makes it super easy sometimes.  Back in August I was browsing some fall activities to do with the kids and came across milk jug jack o' lanterns.  You need tonnes of gallon milk jugs to do this activity. With three kids we go through a gallon of milk at least every two days so we started saving in September and had many extras we didn't use! 

Jason and the boys drew the faces on all the jugs with permanent marker while I kept josh away from the table as there were permanent markers out hahahaha.  It took them about an hour to draw and color in all the faces but they had a great time doing it.

The original directions called for tealights or glow sticks to go inside.  I couldn't fathom me being home alone with tealights in all those lanterns and the wind picking up and blowing them and me then chasing half melted milk jugs so we tried glow sticks but it didn't give the look we were going for.  We were going to go with battery powered tealights but decided a white strand of Christmas lights would give the exact look we wanted.  Jason cut wholes in both sides of the milk jugs and him and Zachary threaded the strand of Christmas lights though. 

In the daylight it looked ok.....but once it started to get dark it was perfect!

I love when something so little turns out to be so much fun to make and actually works!

Hockey Season

Annnnd so it begins.  Hockey season officially kicked off for us last month.  Of course the boys have been having a fantastic time!  They have been excited each week about going so it's nice to see them thrilled to get back out on the ice.  The arena that is super close to our house is undergoing renovations for another 2 months so we need to drive to the arena that is 30-40 minutes away (depending on route GPS takes you on and weather hahaha) so extra early.  We had a brief parents meeting during their first practice.  They were just laying out how the different levels will work, practices games etc.  When you sign them up, you commit to 2 practices a week but it is crazy when they compile the numbers for the entire season together...... so they said the boys will have between 50-60 practices this year plus any ice time they can try and pick up for the team, plus games, plus tournaments etc.  When you lay it all out like that, seems like a big commitment. Oh well they love it.  Jason was as excited as they were I think.  He really likes that their sports are actually starting to become competitive instead of learning the basic skills.  I better start looking for a nice seat cushion to enjoy my sitting time at the rink. I foresee many many hours in the next decade being rink side!

Stepping Up

On my night stand you can find books of all sorts.  They are the ones I am currently reading or will be reading next.  There's always an assortment of books for fun, parenting books, education books etc.  I came in my room today to find Joshua trying to catch up on some light reading......oh the irony....perhaps he knows he will need to step up soon and start pulling his own share in the house :)

Note the book title.....I guess he figures he might as well read it himself and cut me out as the middle man hahaha.... by the looks of the next picture it must be working.

Lego Extravaganza

Ugghhh... Lego's Lego's everywhere.  I love that the boys love Lego but man are those pieces small and always in the weirdest places.  We have been working on storage solutions for their Lego's.  We have come up with an ikea shelf that has individual drawers for different types of Lego sets ie Super Heroes, Star Wars etc.  Also a few months ago, we installed shelves in Mathew's room so that the boys can keep their pre-assembled sets together. The one's that they like to take down to play with but don't want to break.  We still use the lego table that their pepere bought them a few birthday's ago.  It has compartments underneath that store lot's of the random Lego pieces......

and ...and ....and 

the project the boys have been working on with Jason lately; the Lego man storage.  We turned this little project into a learning activity for them again.  They worked with Jason drawing out the plans for the shelf, compiling lists of supplies, purchasing the supplies and then cutting and assembling the actual Lego man storage.  This weekend it was finally hung up on the wall for the boys to sit in awe and just talk and discuss all the different Lego men.  Who knew there were so many different types hahaha.  Mathew, who loves organization, loves to just sit and reorganize the order the little Lego dudes stand in.....in order by genre, power etc. 

Oh boys and their Lego's.

Learning Fun - DIY Geo Board

Anyone who has been to our house knows that we have LOTS of toys....sometimes so many it takes forever to organize/put them all in the right place. With that being said, we have three kids that LOVE to play with toys.  The kids spend 99% of their at home time playing with toys and reading so the amount of books and toys does not bother me.  This summer when all three boys were home with me I started looking for activities that could incorporate all the children....not an easy task with two 6 year olds and a 1 year old.  The older boys are learning how to do things more on their own and you can give them a project and they enjoy working on it and learning new skills.  I have a few projects that I will show in blogs in the upcoming months on things that we have worked on and have turned out really well and educational. 

One thing that I thought the boys would enjoy was learning more about Geo Boards.  Instead of just buying one I decided to turn that into our first 'make our own official toy' project to start out the fall season.  We all went to Lowe's and purchased the supplies (Peg board, nuts and bolts) and then purchased some elastics in the discount section at Target. 

The peg board was large so the boys worked with Jason to learn how to decide on a size, measure and then cut it with a saw (they watched, Jason cut).  The boys then put the bolts through the peg board and tightened the bolts on the other side.  This leaves the bolt sticking up and available to attach the elastics too.  The good thing about them putting the bolts/nuts through is it works on hand eye coordination and also allows them to work on the planning and foresight to place them in the right spots if they have specific designs in mind. 

The activity turned out even better then I hoped.  Josh could then just work on placing the elastics. I think him and I will work on being able to turn the bolts soon as well. 

Time got away on me

Ugghhh.....I honestly have so many things that I have been meaning to blog about...... pregnancy updates, school updates, activity updates, family outings etc but time has just gotten away from me!  Fall is starting to set in now. The beautiful smell in the air, many pumpkin pies have been consumed in our household already, crispness in the air when out walking and many pumkin latté's have made my mornings a little bit more enjoyable :)  No point in rushing the updates I'll just get through them slowly and eventually hahaha.

The big boys ran in a cross country race again this year.  Since I loved cross country running throughout high school, it brought back great memories of being out on the trails again with just the excitement of the races. This year they actually joined the running club that trained before the race so they actually went out about 5ish times to practice.  I was pretty shocked seeing some of these kids run.  The boys were in the 6-8 year old category and did fantastic but most important of all, both finished with a smile and they really enjoyed themselves.  Perhaps next fall when I'm not pregnant I can start running with them again :) ?  What shocked me is these little wee guys ran 1500m, almost a mile and they did it in 6-7 minutes.  Seemed fast to me...made me realize that they are getting into the competitive stages for sports now.

 

Second Grade

I meant to write this post a few weeks ago but....hey life got busy!

In order to register the boys for school again this year you could do it electronically and fill out all the forms via the internet.....which made life so easy because it re-populates the standard information for the other child from the first form you fill out....wooohoo score!  Jason and I were up late one night doing it and we were laughing....we couldn't stop thinking about how long it will take to fill out the forms for 5 kids hahaha it will be a full days work!

With that being said.....I admit I had a little cry when we were done.  We now officially have two boys in the second grade....how did this happen.  Please time slow down.  I'm sure this year will be a fantastic school year and the boys will thrive with the new lessons, activities, friends etc but geesh slow down little guys.....don't grow to fast...mama isn't ready for it!

How can these two be in second grade?

Crazy side note.....if the new twins are in fact born a few weeks early as we predict they and Josh will only be 1 year apart in school....so when they start Junior Kindergarten back home he will be in Senior Kindergarten.....crazy we will have three kids in kindergarten at the same time!!

Cheese

Our little Joshua has recently learned the art of being a ham for the camera.....he now proceeds to make the funniest smiles every time you ask him to take a picture while he exclaims...cheese :) 

Our pictures for the next little while will have the scrunched up little nose of his and his eyes squinted but when we look back I hope to remember the happiest grin ever as he proclaims "Cheeeeesssee".

He has also started incorporating his "please" followed closely by a huge smiley "cheese"...which I think is his way of winning us over to get what he wants hahahaha.  Love the little things that pass quickly but you don't ever want to forget!

So to everyone out there.....good morning and cheese :)

Starting to feel real

July 30/14....up until now it has always felt like flutters and little movements here and there.  I find it a lot more stressful carrying twins then a single baby.  When you have one baby and you feel movement you feel re-assured that everything is okay.  The tiny flutters belong to that baby.  When you have two and they are still tiny, I am not able to distinguish who is making the flutters between the two babies.  You feel a movement but aren't sure if it's one baby....both.....did I feel the other baby move today??  Well today was the first time that I actually saw....like from the outside... a movement from the babies. My stomach moved out as a leg/foot shape moved.  Finally we are entering into the stage of seeing the movements which will soon be followed by being able to distinguish between the two babies arms/legs......and stress decreases :)

As a little side note from an ultrasound I had last week.....people ask why do twins seem to get along so well??  Well perhaps because they have had to put up with each other from the very beginning.  In the ultrasound picture you can actually see the side profile of one baby who has no where to put their legs so they are resting them on the others ones head!!  For all those medical people who want to know...these babies are in their own sacs and they can still do this!

A boy and his dog

Joshua and Jasper can frequently be found hanging out together.  In the middle of playing tonight, I looked over and saw them sharing a snack!  No wonder our toddler grocery bill is high and the dog food bill is almost non existent these days.  Hahahaha

Water Fun

We are always look for ways to add a little extra fun to our backyard play.  This particular day was starting to warm up so we decided to have a little water fun.  We had water balloons that we had filled up with water and decided to hang them like piñata's from the climbing equipment.  That way everyone get's a swing at it and every once in awhile they explode.  At first the boys were quite cautious then then realized that if they wanted to avoid getting wet they actually had to hit it hard enough that it would swing away from them.  Even little Joshie gave it a try........I was scared it would explode on his turn....but hey it's just water right!

Any quick prep backyard games that are favorites at your house?

The Husband Writes a Post!

For a long time, a real long time, my wife Stacey (the author of all but this post) has asked me to contribute to her Blog.

Sticking to my guns, for no good reason except maybe laziness, I've resisted all attempts. Until now...

So why the change of heart? Why have I decided to change my steadfast refusal to participate? It's simple really. I've been beaten into submission. Like so many other things in life, it's just a matter of time before you give up. My own personal battle of Shiloh! After being pressed and backed into a corner, finally, exhausted both body and mind, with no new excuses formed, I have given in.

Ok, that's not actually the case.

The truth is that I've found something that I want to write about. Catching fish!

First thing to note is that I didn't say 'fishing'.

Because what is fishing after all? It's the act of attempting to catch fish without the actual implication of success. Place your line in the water, baited or not, and see what happens.

Fishing can kind of suck. Sorry for my crude language but let's face it. Fishing without success is good for wasting time and getting away from your spouse (trust me she doesn't want to sit on, beside or in water while shooing mosquitos away). One day I will retire and then and only then will I take up fishing. For now, I'm into catching!

Catching fish is the act of getting that fish in the net, pulled up on shore or even scooping it out by hand. Regardless of how you catch the fish, until it's landed, then it's fishing. Lucky for me, I am in Alaska and I am a quick learner.

Coming to Alaska I will admit that I didn't know much about fishing for salmon. My experience at the time centered around what I thought was normal. This most often included a boat on a lake with some form of bait either jigging, trolling, casting and let's not forget praying to the fish gods. Ok, don't take that to heart. I wouldn't actually pray to any pagan god of fish. I'm still a catholic, albeit flawed (but aren't we all?) so maybe my prayers were to God to make those stinking fish bite my line!

Anyway, fishing here as I quickly learned (first time I got skunked) is in fact very different.

As I write this, I am now realizing that I am far too verbose! The accusations I have suffered for a long time may in fact have merit. In light of that, I am going to break this into several blogs perhaps (hopefully not months in between). For today, let's stick to the first catch.

Yes I remember it like it was yesterday... The day I first landed that big, beautiful, tasty beast! YES I AM STILL TALKING ABOUT A FISH! If you're still actually tuned in and reading this, keep your heads out of the gutter.

So... there I was (all good fish stories start like this), on the side of the river wearing chest waders, fishing in salt water at the mouth of the Resurrection river in Seward Alaska. Using what can only be described as a hook that has absolutely no chance of attracting any fish at all, that is where I caught my first Sockeye salmon!

First things first. Watch what the locals were doing. They seemed to be hooking into fish so who better to study from? Ok... now my turn and after only a few casts, Bang! FISH ON! How many anglers have used that cheesy yet perfectly descriptive two word sentence that has brought heart racing joy and adrenaline to so many people?

Say it out loud to yourself. Do it for real! Do it now...... Oh boy... just writing this is making me want to ditch work tomorrow and head out to Ship Creek and catch some fish.

FISH ON!!!!

It's the signal for all others to watch out! Get your stinking lines out of the way! Someone, anyone GRAB THE NET and be ready! I'm the man, I've got a fish on my line, this beast is mine and I am the master that will bring this prized trophy ashore!

If this doesn't give you a shiver or at least a respectful up and down nod of the head, then you've likely clicked this blog by accident. Sorry, this is not Stacey's blog today, we are talking about a big fish on a line in a river in Alaska and this beast is not wanting to be conquered!

Before I tell you how it ends, let's discuss in more detail what fishing in Resurrection river entails.

Fishing as I mentioned earlier is usually about casting a baited hook in hopes to attract a fish. Well, much to my surprise, this IS NOT like that at all. In fact, I was out salt water snagging. Sinful right? To those that fish regularly in Canada and most of US, I'm sure the mere idea of snagging and keeping fish is just plain wrong. Illegal in fact! All that I could hear in my mind when I heard about this was "Fish and game will cease everything I own, even my soul perhaps, if I keep a fish that I have foul hooked". Right? You know what I mean. This is a fishing cardinal sin.

As it turns out, it's actually not. Not if you are in Seward, casting in salt water for sockeye salmon.

In fact, when you use this psychotic hook with no bait, the intention is to literally snag the fish. Doesn't matter where, as long as you hook it, reel it in, bring it up on shore or in a net, it's good to go! Hook in the mouth, cool! Hook in the belly, cool! Hook in the tail, hey that works too! Salt water snagging is where it's at as long as you are in salt water (beyond the posted sign) and there is no emergency order preventing you from doing so. Why snag them instead of making them bite? That's another story for another time...

So let's go back to the catch... there I was... line in water, flipping a crazy weighted treble hook along the bottom and bang FISH ON!

The one thing that I can't really describe is the fight. I'm not actually good at this writing thing so I can only hope to express some of the craziness that ensues as you hook into one. So, it's not like you don't know you got a fish. This is not the subtle tug of a walleye slowly tasting your bait to see if it's interested. This is a small truck or medium size SUV hitting your line with absolutely no intention of cooperating. The fish has one intention and that is to snap your rod, take your line, and to be truthful, spawn. See this is the odd thing I didn't know about salmon. They are going up river to lay or fertilize eggs and then die. This is a one way trip. They want to get to their spawning grounds, spawn and then they turn into what we call zombies (that is again another story so stay tuned) and then they simply die. Regardless of all that, they are champion fighters. Fierce gladiators in fact! Hooking into an 8lb sockeye salmon in a river that's knee deep is about as fierce a fishing battle as you can imagine. These fish will go upstream, downstream, jump, leap and perform acrobatic death defying stunts in order to get free. Your rod had better be sturdy, your line strong, your knot true and your determination razor sharp! Keep your tip up, let your drag work for you and be ready to run up or down the side of the river if you want to land this badass.

So there I was... fighting the beast. It fought like Rocky (the original thru Rocky 4. After that did anyone watch or care???) Anyway, my heart was racing and my line was being stressed. After what seemed like an eternity, mostly because of the terrifying fear the fish would come off (you know what I mean if you've ever fished) I conquered the beast! I got the monster up on the shore. In a final pull of the line, with the fish struggling to go up stream, I steered her straight up onto the sandbar. I outsmarted the creature and used her energy to finally land her. I did say she was like Rocky so maybe it didn't take too much brains to outsmart this foe? Regardless, it was mine! The fish was caught! One of many to come but at the time, the thrill, that first catch... The feeling was ... well I simply can't describe it but I will say that hours later, laying in my bed, arms tired, adrenaline rush gone and subsequent exhausted lull firmly in command, I was still unable to let go and let sleep takeover. I day dreamed of the fish that got away, the one's I landed and more importantly than all of that, I plotted. I analyzed my mistakes, planned, prepared mentally for my next adventure. What could I do differently? How I could have kept my line just a little tighter at times, how my rod tip could have been up just a little higher or leaned a little more left or right depending on the way they were running. It ended up a great day with several fish landed, success by any definition but now it was like a drug and the only way to seek refuge was to come to grips with the idea that I will go back out again and fish on!

You can catch salmon many different ways using many different techniques. Rods, reels, roe, lures, spin, fly, bait caster, high tide, low tide and the list goes on and on... This truly is an art and for the last few weeks I have been a student. Instead of posting a hundred pictures now, I will keep this post as is and only give you a couple snapshots of what has truly become a passion here in Alaska.

People sometimes wonder why we chose to take this posting to Alaska. For anyone that loves fishing, this is the Mecca. Although the truth is that there were many reasons why we came here, if you fish (or catch like me), you really don't need any more explanation do you?


  

 

Mighty Mini

I love passing on cool things when I find them.....so for anyone who has a toddler or buys a toddler treats I came across these mini popsicles in the ice cream section.  They are crazy tiny like maybe 3 inches big but the perfect size for little hands and they are super slow melt.....which means still a little mess but way way less then with a regular popsicle and he get's to feel like one of the big kids with his own.  Going to look up on pinterest now for slow melt popsicles we can make at home...if anyone knows one please pass it on :)

First 4th of July

I know this is late.....9 days late in fact but just getting to it.  This year was the first time we lived in the United States and got to celebrate Independence Day.  A great celebration for sure but I'm very confident that THIS 4th of July celebration is drastically different compared to the lower 48 (yes I have adapted to using the term lower 48 like the rest of the Alaskan's lol).  This year we attended the local festivities and went to the parade in downtown Anchorage.

I know all of you have attended festivals before so I won't bore you with the details.... that being said, let me point out a few things that gave us a no kidding double take! Maybe you will find this funny too.

Fireworks occurred on July 4 at 12:05 am....yes you go to the fireworks on the night of July 3rd .......this happens because it does not get dark here almost ever during the summer.....daylight is forever. Even after midnight, it's only twilight really but whatever.

At the fair, there was no bull riding....instead here they ride a mechanical salmon.

There is a reindeer who walks in the 4th of July parade....yes a real live reindeer who walks the entire route on a leash!

Our family really enjoyed partaking in a new celebration together.  Happy (belated) 4th, as they say, to everyone back home as well :)

Well.....

We are now 14 weeks pregnant with another set of twins.  That's right....I was probably as shocked as everyone else when we found out.  For a few months we had been debating whether or not to have one more.  The older twins have each other and are closer then you could imagine. We thought one more close in age to Joshua would be a great idea.  While we vacationed in Hawaii, we realized that Jason and I together could totally handle one more to travel with.  We went in to our first appointment with the doctor and they performed a routine ultrasound......it was the nurse practitioner performing the ultrasound.....she was super chatty before the test started but as soon as the ultrasound began, she was dead silent.  I was really worried and asked "Is everything alright?"  She replied "Ummm.....yes" in a not so convincing tone....silence again.....seemed like 20 minutes (probably 1 minute in reality)....so I asked "Is there one?".....she replied "ummm.....I don't think so".  At that moment I think I had a heart attack.  Jason was as cool as a cucumber this time around and meanwhile I panicked as she checked how many babies there actually were!  After another eternity she finally said "well it looks like another set of twins".  To my shock Jason answered "Twins....oh we can do twins no problem" while I was too shocked to even speak.  So I guess little Josh is going to become the epitamy of a middle child....a little singleton sandwiched between two sets of twins!  The new set of twins are actually due on Joshua's second birthday.  I'm sure they won't arrive on the due date as twins usually arrive early (our first set 3 weeks early), but it would be pretty cool to have 5 kids with only 2 birthdays!  So the thought of twins again has settled in and we have gotten used to the idea but I must admit that three kids under two is incredibly daunting! Ugghhh three kids in diapers hahahaha!

The little things

Sometimes, when you least expect it, a little kind gesture from a neighbor has a way of brightening your day.  We live next to an older couple.  The lady is confined to the house for health reasons and we see the man often when outside but don't have a chance to talk for long as we are usually coming or going etc.  This past weekend Jason was outside getting some water toys set up with the boys and the neighbor came around the fence to give the boys some flowers he had cut from his garden to give to their mom.  The boys were so happy and we put them in a glass on the counter to enjoy.  Every time I see them I think how a little act of kindness brightens our family's life each day when we see the flowers.

The ice cream truck

Yesterday evening, right before dinner, Jason and I were sitting in the living room when we heard the familiar music of an ice cream truck!  The ice cream truck has not been by our house since we lived here so Jason rushed for his wallet and the twins and I ran down the road in our bare feet to catch up with it!  Who cares that it came at dinner time....we just pushed dinner later by an hour.....and the boys thought it was the coolest thing that we actually caught him.  Jason claims he hasn't saw me move that fast in a long time hahahaha. 

As the boys and I sat out on the back deck enjoying our ice treats, I couldn't help but remember living in Germany when the boys were little and we would meet the local ice cream man almost daily.  He  made home made ice cream and sold us a cone for 50 euro cents.....I know crazy, it only cost 50 cents and was delicious.  This ice cream truck was definitely not that quality but we had a great time and we sure hope he makes a trip by our house again soon!

Ahh love when the boys just get to enjoy the little things that make childhood so great!

Fettuccine ...oh my!

This past weekend Jason's step-dad and I decided to try and make homemade pasta.  Since neither one of us had ever done it before it was quite funny to watch.  Learning the technique to getting square sheets as you put it through the press took a little bit of time.  We were not sure what consistency the dough should be so it took a little while and experimenting with adding flour to find the right dough make up that would flatten the best.  There are only a few ingredients and it turned out to be easier then we expected.  The pasta was fantastic......everyone gobbled it up.  It's definitely something I foresee myself making often in the future.....especially with the cookbook that gives so many recipes for different types of pasta. 

The Christmas gift of pasta press and fettuccine cutter turned out to a lot of laughs and makes great pasta!

Salmon Fishing

I grew up fishing but yesterday was the first time that I have ever been salmon fishing.  We packed up the RV and headed down to the Russian River for the weekend in hopes of having some fun fishing.....and that we did.  The first day there were hardly any fish (we saw others catch them but we came out empty handed).  Father's Day morning was a completely different story though....there were literally thousands of them in the water.  We ended up with a total of 8 fish but laughed so hard in the morning trying to get them it was crazy!  I was in charge of the net.....for anyone who has never netted a salmon before it's a much harder job then you would think.  They move crazy fast so picture me running through the river (with Josh on my back) trying to net the fish who is trying desperately not to be netted hahaha.  The twins even hooked a few on their own and brought them in.  The salmon are crazy because not only do they fight if you catch them they fly out of the water sometimes too! I will definitely be buying chest waders before I go out again as your boots get extremely heavy once they fill up with water! 

I think we will head out again this week.....destination undetermined at this point......to try our luck at it again.  Hopefully the next trips brings as many laughs as the first!

Lucky

Sometimes you just sit back and realize how truly lucky you are.  For me this happened last night.  These last few weeks of Jason being gone have been dragging and by far the hardest out of the entire time.  The boys are anxious for his return and the days seem to be dragging by.  The three little guys have been behaving great but I think it's just being in the final leg that makes it the hardest.  The one thing that causes me anxiety when there is just one adult in the house is getting sick.....when I start to feel sickness coming on I worry about the baby....the bigger boys can look after themselves somewhat if I need to lie down for an hour or two but the baby can't.  Last week I was under the weather and it made me realize just how great the friends I have made here truly are and how thankful I should be for them.  I had friends volunteering to come over if things got worse, friends dropping off homemade bread, friends having me for dinner, friends dropping off cake pops, friends having coffee with me and friends just getting me out of the house to enjoy time with the boys.  I am soo very lucky to have such good friends....we may not have been friends for a long time but these friends are dear to me and have become good friends very quickly.  I really appreciate these great friendships I have at this current posting and at all our past postings.  I want all my dear friends to realize just how much I value them! These acts of kindness that my friends have shown me I intend to pay them forward!

A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be.  ~Douglas Pagels

Book Date

I haven't been feeling well lately so we have been kinda laying low.  The boys and I ventured out to Barnes and Noble to browse the books and get some cookies for a treat today.  We spend a good 45 minutes looking at different books that the boys can now read on their own.  They are moving up to starting chapter books that they read independently which is new for us.  So we had to first find some that were of interest to them and then see if they were at the right reading level.  I love how they are as into books as I am.  We have tonnes of chapter books we have read to them in the last year or two but I feel nothing an easy way to inspire someone to want to read is by going to the store and letting choose the perfect book for themself.  We even bought Josh the pout pout fish book in a board book. 

Trains

As I have written about many times before, the twins have loved playing with trains for almost 5 years now.  I was cooking dinner and I heard Zachary singing and when I looked over to see what he was doing he and Joshua were playing trains on the floor together.  Mathew joined in shortly after and it was so nice to see them just enjoying the trains together.

Tardiness

I am usually quite punctual...there is the exceptional time I run behind but I would say 99% of the time I am either on time or early.  At least this way my friends know that if I am late something legitimate came up hahaha.  I was going over to a friends one evening last week and to my surprise there was a moose at the neighbors house hahaha I never thought I would have to tell someone that I am running late because there is a moose on the street. 

Oh and as a side note....that is a full height chain link fence.....that the moose just STEPPED over!  It's tummy cleared the regular height chain link fence hahahaha

A little something

I had a great morning of play dates and little Joshie is down for a nap.  I went into Mathew's bedroom to tidy up a bit and found this on the floor with the pencil off to the side.  Melt my heart....he is the sweetest little guy.  I love how the three boys love each other so much!

Why I love baby proofing!

Having just one baby is not near as hectic as it was with the twins and yet we still chose to baby proof our family room.....and this is the reason why.....
I got to enjoy a play date today....we all got to actually relax.....talk to mom's and not have to chase these little ones everywhere or worry about what they were getting into. They were so cute....actually enjoyed each other's company and it was great just watching them try out all the toys together.

And yes....it's Joshua hanging with all girls hahaha.  They aren't smiling but hey we got all four to not move long enough for a picture!

Book Injury

I never thought I would say this but books actually hurt Joshua yesterday!!  He loves, loves, loves books right now.  He carries them everywhere he goes.  Yesterday he was picking books off the shelf and walking around as he normally does but he tripped and fell and his head banged the book.  He still reads the board books so there was no give at all in the pages.....and the book actually caused the cut on his head.  Who would have thought with all his climbing on windows etc that he would hurt himself with a book. 

Every night I read Joshua books on his rocking chair before putting him to bed.  I was putting laundry away in Josh's room before reading tonight and Mathew wanted to jump up on the rocking chair and read him a little book.  So sweet....brother bonding time!

Little Joshua

Joshua turned one less then a month ago and it seems like he has changed sooo soo much in the last few weeks.  He's walking all over the place...losing the toddle already :(  Sitting and doing little 3 piece puzzles on his own.....looking at tonnes of books....actually understanding when you talk to him and trying to talk all the time.  He just went through a growth spurt and he is starting to look like a little boy.  Ok little guy....just because you are one doesn't mean you have to grow up so quick!

Can't help but enjoy a morning coffee with this little guy at my side!

Dear Tooth Fairy...let me explain

So the title "dear tooth fairy...let me explain" is actually how a letter started that Zachary wrote and left in the tooth fairy pillow last night. 

The boys were out playing on the swing set with the little girl who lives behind us.  They had been having a great time and playing for a good 45 minutes when I peaked out the window at them....and Zachary was crawling around on his hands and knees....didn't really think anything of it until I looked out two minutes later and the little girl and Mathew were both crawling around as well.  Mathew came running in to tell me that they needed my help.  Confused I put the baby in the playpen in front of the patio door....slipped on my boots and grabbed my jacket.  When I got outside I saw some blood on the snow by the swing set....oh oh what happened??

Well apparently all three kids were swinging and Zachary was wiggling his tooth with his tongue....and it fell out.  He got over excited....started to panic a bit....and slowed himself down....but realized his tooth had flown out mid swing.  So his itty bitty tooth was somewhere the bed of white snow.  Geesh.  So all three kids had been walking around looking for it (aka stomping all over the snow where the tooth is somewhere located).  So I got down on my hands and knees and started looking.....no luck.

Zach started crying because the tooth fairy wouldn't bring any money if he doesn't have his tooth...so Mathew decided they should just write her a letter....explain the situation....see what happens.  They ran in....crafted a letter and put it in the tooth fairy pillow.  There were shouts of joy this morning when Zachary discovered the money.

So the boys aren't sure if the tooth fairy went out to find the tooth or not.....they said they are checking in the spring...and if they find the tooth they will get more money when they put it in the pillow.  Oie!!

Shoes

I was organizing some shoes in the front closet today and when I looked over I noticed Jason's and Joshua's shoes were sitting on the floor side by side.  It made me realize just how big of a difference in size their shoes are.  Sometimes I think Joshua is growing so fast and it takes a moment like this to realize just how small he still is and just how much bigger he is going to grow.  Don't grow too fast little Joshua...there are a lot of shoe sizes in between :)