My Monthly Post...

Last night my moral compass Anne once again chastised me for not having posted recently. I didn't think it was so bad considering how many people I know who don't blog or post photos... but hey... there's nothing quite like a giant kick in the rear to get me moving! So here I am on a gorgeous Saturday night, sitting at my computer!

Last night, however, saw me out on the town with the girls. I never would have thought that I would be able to relinquish Mia at five months and go out without checking my phone, but I did it! (And it really wasn't that hard... teehee...) She has been such a great baby and Rob has gotten very good at fathering, so I am now finding that I have a bit more freedom than I did at this stage with Lucas. This week saw Mia taking a bottle of pumped milk accompanied by audible sighs of relief from Rob and I. We are daring to dream that we may actually be able to get out for an evening without the kids one of these days!

I had a lovely time with the crew. It was a great turn out and everyone was in fine spirits. Molly organized us into going to Sanafir for dinner; a great choice indeed.

(Molly, Anne, Julia, me and the bf girls, Lindsay, Val, Liz, Lesley and Anna - April 27th)
Sorry this photo is a little fuzzy - and apologies to Liz. It was either half of Anna or the top of Liz's head! Rob and I had a great getaway to Whistler with the kids. We are very happy with the Intrawest up there and agreed that we foresee using it a lot as the kids grow. Although boarding was out of the question, we ate well and laughed hard for a few work and laundry-free days. Lucas loved our stop at Shannon falls but was terribly disappointed that we didn't see any trains. Upon our return we finally saw one, but couldn't bear to wake him from a much-needed nap. Murphy's law hit, of course, and he woke up minutes after it had passed! We are looking forward to heading back for a longer stay at the end of May.



Rob and Lucas went to COWS while I perused Please Mum with Mia. (Note; blue bubblegum ice cream creates large dry cleaning bills when paired with hockey jerseys...)

We had a short but great visit with my cousin Paul this last week as well. It was really nice to see him and our friend David for a few laughs. Times sure have changed though; I found our kid-centred visit to be a far cry from the late night drinking and card playing binges of old. I didn't miss the morning headache but I did feel a bit melancholy about missing out on the evening revelry.

I love this photo. Lucas eats olives faster than I can get them into any recipe, but the other day I turned around and found him making olive body art. Priceless. (Yes, yes, I know Teddy needs a bath...)

Easter was a hoot. Lucas keeps asking when the Easter bunny is coming back because he was so spoiled. Mom did a very creative egg hunt for the boys that had them collecting eggs filled with raisin boxes, mini cheeses, and toonies. It was great to see the excitement with which each egg discovery was greeted.

Mia is so active now,. She is doing the great wiggle on the floor; can turn a full 360 degrees, scooch backwards, and do some sort of strange rendition of the worm, all accompanied to her very own pterodactyl soundtrack. She certainly has figured out that she gets attention for these antics. It can even shake the grumpies out of Lucas and make him crack a smile.

Mia is also hankering for food in a big way and has mastered the quick grab wherein she sweetly smiles up at you calmly and then screams her prehistoric cry whilst swooping her hand into whatever food is closest in an attempted kidnapping. Today she caught herself a rotini but alas it slipped before she could even attempt the recoil into her waiting mouth. I fret a little about her being terribly disappointed when she learns that her first food will be mushy cereal...

I'm considering building a dog shit composter in the backyard. I just can't believe how much those hounds produce. So that will be my google research for the evening. It really is just an excuse not to finish marking my FCE papers, but whatever works, right?!

So Many News...

It seems that I am constantly blogging in my head these days. I will be bathing a child, lying in bed or riding a bus and all of a sudden I am hit with the urge to write here. Of course I am never able to reach the computer in time and therefore the writing gets put off for yet another day. I really only get the evening now to spend a bit of time child-less and I'm usually so drained that I stare blankly at the screen for a while and then admit that I need sleep quite badly.

I have surprised a few people by taking a job. I am teaching an advanced writing class in the afternoons for a ESL college downtown. It is just two hours a day from Monday through Friday, but I am finding that combined with the travel time, it is taking a considerable chunk of time away from my week. Last week went more smoothly than I could have imagined, but I left in tears today because Lucas was in hysterics at my departure. Most days it shouldn't be so hard as Rob will be here to watch the kids, but today was more difficult. Rob was to have finished his contract with Intrawest by now, but it seems that they still need him for a little longer. To add to this, the restaurant seems to also need him terribly and is scheduling him in for doubles far too much for my liking. So the wee ones are seeing a bit more of their grandparents than I had planned, and I believe the transition is a little fast for Lucas who is so used to having me around. Funnily enough, it was Mia who I was most worried about, but she seems to be fairing very well. Now if we could just get her to take a bottle Rob and I could almost imagine a night out in the future!

More "news" is that we finally got our much-anticipated new fireplace just in time for Spring to hit. We still find ourselves sitting in front of it soaking up its lovely glow, but I imagine its true potential will shine much more brightly in the fall! We also got our Shaw digital phone installed. I must admit I feel very smug at having managed to avoid any need to do business with Telus again. (Exactly what Shaw was hoping for, I'm sure!) Lucas' "new" is his obsession of all things Thomas. It arose out of a fairly mild case of train-love, but has now reared its ugly head into a full-blown Thomas the Tank Engine craze. I have been requested to sing the theme song as a bedtime lullaby for two weeks running now. Could any poor soul with knowledge of more lyrics than the first two lines please email me and save me from improvisational shame? I'm really too tired to be researching it...

I leave you then with all our news. Have a great, great week!