Back to normal

Wow it’s been way too long!  Things at our house have been hectic to say the least.  A lot of ups and downs in the last month but finally our house has returned to normal….or as “normal” as it ever is!  Our family has been really able to enjoy some great family time lately.  As the weather warms up I think there will be even more opportunities in the near future. 

So I’ll start with a few little catch up posts!

The boy’s attended a friend’s birthday party a week ago.  It was at Creative Learning here in town and they had an absolute blast.  It was the first time that we didn’t really know the parents but they just ran off and had a great time.  They did tons of crafts, activities and even came home with their faces painted.  This was shocking to us because they don’t typically like face painting.  We have painted on each other’s faces at home before but every time we are at an event they ask to pass on the face painting.  Mathew came home as our little tiger

and Zachary was Spot the dog.  He preferred to be called spot until the minute the makeup came off.

It was neat seeing the boys interact with some friends that they had made only through school.  Lot's of their other school friends they also know through activities or playdates.  It was the cutest thing ever when the little brithday girl came over to give them huge hugs.  The look of joy on their faces was enough to make my day!

Radio Flyer

Anyone who has ever been to our house knows that we have sooo many toys.  We purchase the boys tonnes of toys; they get tonnes for occasions since there are two and our families’ likes to spoil them.  With that being said I hate cheap toys.  I hate when things break so I do tonnes of research to make sure we get good sturdy toys that will last at least through the twins.  One of our favourite brands would have to be Radio Flyer.  It is a tad pricey but not crazy and everything we have ever gotten has stood up fantastic.  The boys had the tricycle bikes with the handles which I loved because then I could grab the handles whenever a car came by to make sure no one got on the road on me.  We have the radio flyer big wheels that I have posted about before.  We have the scooters that will still be a hit and make an appearance for the third summer with the boys.  Two Christmas’s ago the boys received the radio flyer horse named blaze as a Christmas gift.  It’s a spring horse that makes different sounds dependent on how quickly you jump on him.  He also has a pretend carrot that you put in front of his mouth to make pretend eating noises.  The boys love him and ride him often.   This is why I was disappointed when his hair started to come undone about a month ago.  Last week it completely fell off….ahhhh!!  The boys were devastated…so I called Radio Flyer to inquire if I could by new hair or if there was a way to reattach it.  Their customer service was absolutely fantastic.  She was so apologetic and helpful and even offered to provide an entire new head for the horse for free.  That’s right not even any shipping or handling.  I was shocked!!  The new head arrived last night and the mail and the boys can’t wait to ride the horse again.  Wow Radio Flyer really impressed.  We will definitely be looking into more of your products!!

Flashback

Every once in awhile it's nice to look back at how small they were  not so long ago.  Small in size.....but they have always been huge in spunk and personality!  Here's some pictures of little Mattie from almost two years ago.....he looks older....I'm not sure he's that much bigger...and his personality has sure remained the same!!

Still cracks me up.....how did he think up this stuff??

The rubber boots that had to go EVERYWHERE with him!

Chllin!!

Taking in a Hockey Game

The Royal Military College's hockey team came to town to play against the local Nipissing University Lakers this past weekend.  The Military Family Resource Centre had purchased tickets for military families to attend.  Our family had an absolute blast sitting in the crowd of fans dressed in red and military uniforms.  We filled up an entire section of the arena.  We discovered that little Mathew is a sports nut.  He watches the game intently and yells at the players.  He jumps and screams at plays and goals.  It's crazy....I didn't even know he really knew what they were doing but he was right into it.  Zachary on the other hand was more into entertaining the crowd.  Every time the music came on he was a dancing machine and doing moves I had never seen him do before....inclduing playing an air trumpet.  Where do they learn these things!! hahahaha  We stayed out way past their bedtime but they were so into it we didn't have the heart to leave before overtime was done.  We cheered, we laughed and we all had fun.  Perhaps we should attend the games more often!

Oh no.....cold bug has landed!

The cold bug has landed at our house.  Last Christmas the cold bug had struck hard.  The boys both had bronchitis and we all had fevers.  Then on Christmas eve my ear drum ruptured from the infection......and I was out for most of Christmas.  So I was extremely happy to report that no one was sick at our house over the holidays this year.  We got to enjoy all of our time off instead of recuperating from illness.  We thought the cold bug had missed us this year......but it seems to have snuck into our house last night.  Mathew went to bed with a little cough and a tiny runny nose and woke up with a barking cough, sunken eyes, lethargic and the chills.  Poor little guy missed school today but doesn’t seem to be doing much better yet L  Zachary reassured him that he would let him know if they learned any new songs at school today.  I guess that’s another pro for having your twin in your class.  Let’s hope these cold germs only make a quick stop at our house and get out of here quick!!  Tonight the humidifier is going on and Lysol wipes are going to be cleaning the house!!

Ski Adventures

Jason and I used to love going on ski vacations together.  While living in Europe we spent many vacations travelling to the Swiss, German and Austrian Alps.  When the twins were about 2 months old my sister came over for a vacation and we all went on a ski vacation.  There were 4 adults and 2 infants so the adults took turns skiing or watching the babies J  Since then Jason and I haven’t actually gone out skiing.  Until three weeks ago....when the twins started ski lessons!  They love it.  I can’t believe how quickly they picked it up and they actually want to do some extra runs after their lessons are done.  So we drop them off for 1.5 hours and Jason and I get to ski together.  I will admit we sneak over every 15 -30 minutes to peak on them but we still enjoy skiing on our own.  It’s the best of both worlds J  Woohoo to being able to ski as a family! I see ski vacations in our future!! J

On a side note....my fraternal twins look so much alike with their ski equipment on that I can't tell them apart!

Music in the air!

The boys started their violin lessons last week.  Jason and I are not really musical people...we enjoy listening to it but don’t have much talent for playing any instruments.  When the boys were little and we started discussing what activities to put them in, we both agreed that we should at least expose them to musical instruments.  Who know if they will have any talent, who knows if they will be any good at all, who knows if they will even like it but at least they will have been given the chance at it.  I truly believe that you won’t discover what you are truly good at unless you try.  So for now we are doing violin lesson, I think it will eventually lead to piano lessons but for now they are going to work on reading one music line and just getting their fingers to do what they want.  It’s funny to see how much practice (one entire week actually....but only about 5-10 minutes a day) it takes for a 4 year old to be able to get their fingers to open and close around the little strings.  They are quite into it and enjoy practice time.  For everyone else who is not musically inclined it was great to discover that the teacher actually gives the parents a little lesson the first time so we are able to help them practice and know what they are supposed to be doing!