Brief Hiatus...

Well seems as though I didn't have enough to do already, what with being a servant to the boys and all... this summer I started my own little business... I am making kids hats, adult hats, women's cowls and whatever else comes across the table!!! So summer has been busy making hats! If you want to check them out look up WinterKnots I can make whatever!!!

But onto why I really have this blog, my hooligans! They are crazy! For those that don't know Trace is now on two wheels and the twins are crazy fast on their strider bikes. And little daredevils too! Canaan was heading down the hill at the local school when the front tire started the wobble... Kyle jumped up and sprinted towards him. But we didn't make it in time. From our angle it looked like he should have been missing teeth, or have no nose... all I have to say is HELMET THANK YOU!!! If Canaan had not had on his helmet properly he would have been missing teeth, or hurt his noggin... As it turns out he was lucky, a few small bruises on his chin and a mutilated helmet! Oh and the crazy kid was off down the hill again about 2 minutes later.

Boys!!! I tell you... sometimes I wonder. They have really kept me busy this summer. Camping for a week in Shuswap would never have been possible without my amazing sister in law!!! Kaite was saint! As was her hubby my bro Dallas and my parents! It actually felt like a vacation!! Our friends joined us for the long weekend and we had so much fun! What an amazing busy, memorable summer... I am not ready for it to end... and for Trace to start 4 year pre-school....... sigh.....

STOP THIEF!!!

Trace... special little man. Seems he is also a bit sneaky! Two weeks ago he came home with a mini pterodactyl in his pocket after pre-school. When asked he told me he borrowed it. We brought it back the next class.

Today as we pulled into a friends house I noticed he had a mini my Little Pony. Awesome. Again when asked he informed me that he borrowed it from pre-school. I informed him that it is only borrowing if you ask the teachers permission to take it home. That what he had infact done is called stealing.

While at this friends house today I notice him eye up the change on her counter. Really!!! That is all I could think. But the minute I started to talk to him about how it wasn't his and how he needed to leave it there as it belonged to his friends he kinda glazed over, man style. After we left, unloaded at home and got the twins down for their nap I noticed that Trace was emptying his pockets into the piggy bank he got for his birthday a few years ago. I asked him where he got the money and if it was Jen's... yup it was. Awesome.... all I could think was that little thief.. .seems as though I will have my hands full with this one!

An Angry Day.... Granny to the Rescue!

Last Tuesday... woke up... ANGRY. Ever have one of those days, wrong side of bed, kids don't stop crying and whining, you just want to curl up and ignore everything... yet being a stay at home mom I sure can't! Tuesdays are our busy day, Trace has pre-school and the twins have a class at the same time. LOVE our social rec class! The twins love it but getting ready is hard sometimes.

So I woke up, forced myself out for my run, and ran a 30 min 5km! My best yet! Thought ok... now this day will get better. NOPE! Got kids ready, packed into car with minimal problems, dropped Trace off at pre-school without a fight. Then off to Teacher Tina's class. Canaan was dragging his feet a bit while Jaxon RAN up to the front door... thank goodness for no cars on the road in. We get in the elevator and they do the usual happy SCREAM as they watch it go down. Then we get to Tina's class... they both drop to the floor and refuse to come in. AWESOME. My temper is already pretty bad today, I am feeling my red eyes come out. You know the ones in all the old school cartoons when the evil character is really angry.. yup those ones! I grab Jaxon and half carry him in, while Canaan is holding onto my ankle so I half drag half push him on the lino into the classroom.... where the blessed Tina and another mom are there... They take one look at me, laugh a bit and help. RELIEF! The moms in this class are amazing to say the least and Tina a saint!

So home time. All kids are loaded... after they decided to run through parking lot with second set of twins in class (the four of them together are TROUBLE!). We get home and I walk in the door.. mom isn't home. crap. Poor mom when she does come home I let her know I am having and "angry" day. My amazing mom stays upstairs the rest of the day and completely helps me out. She wrangles children, changes diapers and just keeps me company which is the best part of all...

I don't know how I would have gotten through a grumpy "angry" day had the ladies of the rec class, the teacher and then my amazing mom not helped me out! THANK YOU!

What's In a Face... Right???

Been a while, I have started a new venture making hats for kids, and some other stuff and it has somewhat taken up my time. Planning and figuring a few things out before I start taking orders! 

This weekend was a bit of a doozy for us. Saturday we had a birthday party at a local pool, TONS of fun! Canaan is getting quite independent with his life jacket on! Maybe a little too independent at times! We BBQ'ed with some good friends that evening and kids had a bit of a late night. Lots of fun and an amazing day! 

Sunday was brunch at other good friends house, lots of kids, crazyness all around and a few drinks for the parents. Loved it. 

As we know a weekend that is that busy cannot happen without some sort of accident on our part. And sure enough, while Trace perfected the art of SLAMMING our friends wooden playhouse door, he happened to slam it on Canaan. Who proceeded to cry and run towards us. Sure enough, big lump on the bridge of his nose, and he somehow was bleeding from his eyelid? No idea. Just happy that he didn't loose an eye. Poor kids looks like a train wreck. 

Now not to be outdone, Jaxon and Trace were playing yesterday, Trace decided that the white cloth Ikea bin was in his way and that chucking it at his brother was the best option. So he proceeded to do just that. Nailing Jaxon in the face and giving him a swollen nose, and bloody scrapes all down the middle of his face. AWESOME. 

This weekend is Trace's 4th birthday, I am just guessing that maybe he wanted to make sure he was the fairest of them all??? 

Let Me Take Your Picture...

We did some family pics this last weekend. LOTS of fun! The kids were running around like there is no tomorrow, sat still a few times. Didn't get NEAR as muddy as I thought they would, FUN... LOVED IT! I can't wait for the pics to be done and be able to look through them. A friend of mine took them as she is looking at starting her own business and I have to say she was amazing! The three boys NEVER seemed to stress her out! Regina I APPLAUD you!!!!

Well.. Trace has a camera ( a V-tech one) that he can take pics on). So as I am sitting here and checking facebook and prepping for my meeting tomorrow all I hear from Trace is...
"Ok Now sit togeder on the couch, and put your arms around each other and act like you love each other" "Ok now stay there.. don't move.. say Cheese!!!"
Then from the twins in unison "CHEEEESE... CLICK!"

For all of you that read this, or know me ... I have a friend. She and I are in the same... um situation?!? So to speak... she is also a mom of a little boy (who is only a few weeks older than Trace) and a set of boy twins (5 days older than my twins...) I am trying to get her to guest write on here for me. Lets just say she has some table crackin good stories... and is also an amazing momma!!! She keeps me sane that is for sure! I am blessed to have many good friends who listen, help and just are there for me! And of course my mom... no words to describe her, couldn't have done this last year without her!

Chicken Mouse

Last night was leftovers night in our house, or empty the fridge night. The boys chose to have chicken nuggets which they love. As I am pulling all leftovers onto the counter Kyle asks me what is for dinner...to which Canaan starts his reply "chicken mouse" .... I didn't really hear him the first time. Kyle is still asking me what is for dinner and now Canaan is screaming "CHICKEN MOUSE DADDY".

Kyle and I just look at him... What? Did he really just say that? Kyle then asks me what the boys are having... well.. it just so happens that the nuggets that we have for the boys are in the shape of mickey MOUSE ears... hence the chicken mouse.

Well I thought it as the cutest thing, so we had to phone Granny who is in Edmonton and have her ask him what is for dinner... of course being Canaan he performed and said "chicken Mouse Granny". Too cute!

Today as we were driving home from a birthday party I asked the boys what they wanted for lunch, I got on noooonles, one peanut butter jemmy, and one Chicken Mouse... hmmmm I translated as grilled cheese for all! I have to say I am loving that the boys are chatting more and that we are understanding them! And I LOVE the things that are coming out of their mouths!

First Pre-school Playdate = SUCCESS... I think...

We got invited for our first pre-school play date last week... and at a GIRLS house! Imagine my excitement at being invited (with all 3 boys mind you!) and then imagine my face changing as it all sinks in... Holy smokes... is she for real? BRAVE woman inviting us over! We are lucky that this amazing momma lives right up the street, has a little girl Trace's age and a little boy who turns two this year. (and yes he is almost potty trained... ugh soo jealous!). 

I had made up my mind to walk there as it is literally less than a block away, so even though it is pouring rain this morning we pack up and head out. Twins in the stroller with the rain cover on, Trace in his rain boots trailing behind with his own little umbrella. SUCCESS we make it all the way there!!! 

Trace as usual plays shy so I find him a little space to "hide" until he wants to come out and play which of course is less than 2 minutes later. Twins off with jackets and boots and are playing before I am even in the door. Awesome! And so begins the loudness, screaming, running around with baby strollers, playing with all sorts of wonderful toys. Meanwhile this wonderful momma and I are trying to finish just one conversation. Just one.... haha good luck! 

Snack time comes and goes without much of a hitch... unless you consider my boys cleaning every plate they loved mangos, apple pears and crackers. This of course is followed by more of the above playing as I wonder what time I should go home... 1130 comes and we are heading for the door. Boots on, jackets on pure chaos... AWESOME.. we are all out the door. I am saying goodbye and thank you before I pack twins back into stroller.. then I hear the crash. Jaxon has decided to fall down three stone stairs and take the stroller on top of him. And lucky me he takes one for the team and cushions the fall of the stroller... GREAT.. almost made it home no injuries! He has a wee bit of blood, so we clean him up, he is no longer crying so we pack him up and I start the walk home. 

This is what I hear from the stroller 

Canaan: "Oh no Jaxon owie?" 

Jaxon: "Yea Canaan owie"

Canaan: "Oh no... ok?"

Jaxon:  "Yes ok" 

Cutest thing EVER.. so after all is said and done. I still think first pre-school playdate.. a BRAVE success!!! Now hopefully she invites us back! Or wants to come our way!!

The Case of the Missing Cheese...

So last night I had a Lia Sophia Jewellery party (awesome stuff by the way) and after everyone had left and mom and I started the clean up I walked over to coffee table to get the cheese plate... and the Chunk of Jalapeno Havarti was missing...

All I could think was, well... Trace is asleep, Jaxon and Canaan can't get out of their rooms and they are asleep, Kyle is gone, Dad is downstairs, and mom is doing dishes. Now unless someone went and pocketed the cheese on the way out as a parting gift I couldn't think of who else would take it. And yes I checked the fridge to see if it was in there already put away.

Then I look and see beside the cheese plate, laying on the floor pretending to be asleep is... yup Whiskey!!! My 90 lb Black Lab Shepard Cross. So I call his name, he refuses to open his eyes, yet from body language he is looking a little tense. I walk over to him and sit down and just stare at him. "Whiskey" I say with a very stern voice as I pick up the cheese tray... "What did you do???" To which he begins the looking game. And I know in his head he is thinking... "If I refuse to look at her I cannot get in trouble... well maybe a quick.. SHOOT she is still looking at me... hmmm maybe if I give her these eyes ... CRAP they aren't working either. Maybe I can get up and walk downstairs and she won't notice." Yes my Dog ate the cheese... the LARGE chunk of Jalapeno Havarti.

You Are Trying My Patience!

It seems lately that my kidlets are trying my patience just a weeee bit more than normal. Trace has begun with the attitude, "No Mommy I don't want to", "GO AWAY", and then the hitting, which I thought we had under control. Today as I was trying to purchase a compost bucket at the rec centre (our neighborhood now has compost pickup yipeee!!!) he decided instead of paying that he was going to run over to the pop machine and get a "bottle" instead... when I took away the tooney he hit me... like a dozen times. I stood there in shock. It has been a while since he hit me... then of course I look at him and say we will have a talk at home... to which he responds at the TOP of his voice " MOMMY DON'T SPANK ME" ...

Really... can I catch a small break please?

Thank Goodness there were very few people around.. I smiled at him, told him that he needed to drop the attitude and listen and packed him it the van and continued home.

Now onto the twins... Canaan has taken to flailing his body around the floor and then standing up and dramatically throwing himself on the ground again, kicking his feet and screaming... (had a friend over today who can vouch for it). He screams, hits wall and what do I do... walk away.. why... because I don't think he should get attention for it. Is it working you ask... guess we will find out in a week. Although yesterday I had, had enough.. so I went into his room... put him across my lap.. annnnd... tickled his back.. yup lifted his shirt, and gently drew circles on his back. He screamed a bit, wiggled.. then gave up and curled up into a ball on my lap. Afterwards he looked at me.. gave me a kiss and walked out of the room happy... hmmm now that I think of it maybe I was onto something there.

Jaxon... current family favourite, he is sweet as pie, first one to help with clean up, loves hugs and holding my hand. Goes straight to his carseat in the car. Lately he has become my soft sweet little man (he is DONE teething!!!), he might whine quite a bit but I will take it over the flailing of body parts and screaming and hitting...

Ok so here is what scares me the most... summer is coming.. that means open windows.. and for those of you who know me... I already have a loud voice, my neighbors will be hearing me... sometimes I yell just to get above the other noise... sigh....

Pure Chaos!!!!

Well today was a crazy day... not that other days aren't, today was just more so than most. It started off with a blissful 7km run, followed by children sleeping in. NEVER a good sign! Kids were up and dressed (not without some tears), bags and snacks packed, shoes on and loaded in the car... and we were off! I was able to drop Trace of at pre-school without incident and was sooo excited to take the twins to their first ever Social Recreation class!!! We talked about school, and bringing in their own snacks in their little bags they picked themselves. And how we had to listen to teacher Tina and be respectful of others. That we would know a few of the kids there, including another set of twin boys that we see regularly.

Well... we get out of the car, walk into the building, take the elevator down (I am not helping two kids down the stairs while carrying 3 bags AND my hot coffee), and walk into Tina's very quiet classroom. Wouldn't you know it, she has DINOSAUR toys in her room, and  sand table, and books on dinos and sooo must stuff to play with. The catch, SHARING the toys! Once more kids arrived (including second set of twins) we went outside to play. It was great! They can make all the noise they want and it doesn't hurt your ears (as much), they can run, slide, play in a play house and LOTS of other stuff! BLISSS!! I am thinking, man this is going AWESOME, all these boys are GREAT! Then I look over and see Canaan in a full out kicking match with the tallest boy in the class (he is bigger than Trace and only 2!!!!), Jaxon is in a corner which leads me to believe Canaan is sticking up for his brother for some reason or another. After the fight is broken up we head off to play with other toys. All is well... until it is time to bring kids inside to clean up for snack time. We go through washing of hands, and sitting down Canaan is all for it, Jaxon has a fit and has to sit down on his own terms. The other set of twins is also off and running, all I can think of is AWESOME! This makes me feel normal, (which is why I love hanging out with other twins, nobody really gets a mother of twins except another mother of twins). Once the story has been read and snack time finished it is time for songs.....

PLEASE cue CRAZYNESS x 4 if not more! Canaan is screaming that he doesn't want to put his book upon the shelf and neither does Jaxon, they want to keep their books, they don't understand this whole sitting in a circle, jumping and waving your arms around to music things, and decide that they must scream and cry instead. The other twins do not agree with sitting still either, they are running around screaming with mine. Please remember songs still going on, Teacher Tina being an awesome and amazing sport as are other mothers as their kids melt down as well... one little girl is off to time out, three other boys are picking up assortment of toys that got thrown around, other twin mom, along with myself and 2 other moms dont' know what to do anymore so we decide to almost pee ourselves laughing. While a new mom to the group gets up and walks out with her kid... huh... wonder why? Today was a good day... crazy, funny, a learning experience but a good day! Here is hoping next Tuesday goes a bit uhhhh smoother??? Hahahaha!!!!!!

But I Want Daddy to See My Bloooooood....

Love birthday parties... sooo many of our friends have young kidlets like us and we get invited to quite a few birthday parties each month. Well, Saturday we had one. LOTS of fun! Trace got to meet and hold a bunny for the first time, he played with his friends in the big kid play room downstairs and did sooo well!

While playing downstairs we hear a scream and Trace comes up the stairs, blood dripping down his little cheek, his buddy scratched him... and although he was probably asking for it I did feel a little bad for him. Once he saw the blood and that it did leave a mark he got quiet... "mommy.... I want to show daddy my blood". To which I replied "Daddy won't be home when we go there...  you can show him the scratch when you wake up tomorrow". So I left the blood on it (scratch is QUITE small under blood) until we got home.. where I cleaned it... well he FREAKED... " MOMMY I WANTED TO SHOW DADDY MY BLOOOOOOD" please add tears and a devastated child to this. After much discussion and chatting about options he decided he wanted me to rub a towel on his face to make it bleed again so it would drip down his face and he could show his daddy in the morning... REALLY???? Sigh.... guess boys treasure their scars early on.

A Fat Lip

Well Trace got his first official fat lip... had a TON of black eyes between all the boys but nothing like this. We went to my husbands Nana's funeral on Saturday. I knew I would be watching the kids and not able to really participate as Kyle was saying a little something. So we took the kids and their cousin Lexi into the foyer. Of course... MUST play Tag while they were there... Trace tripped over NOTHING and landed face first... well really mouth first.

He tried to blame Jaxon, then Canaan but really I saw it... it was nothing.. Well the dam burst and blood poured fourth like water... He refused ice, so I had to sneak it on a wet cloth... and had to take him outside. I swear it wasn't going to stop... he is yelling at the top of his lungs.. "I WANT TO SHOW DADDY MY BLOOD". Great.. well that is when I heard Kyle sharing his memories of this amazing woman he called Nana. Got Trace a little quiet so we could hear daddy through the speaker.

I walked him into his daddy shortly after... Kyle looked slightly shocked at the amount of blood on Trace's shirt... the rest of the day went off without hitch or more blood but holy crazy! Nana would have loved it, boys will be boys! Let them be kids while they can... she loved having them over to her house, and loved letting them run wild while she watched and laughed at them. Nana was one of the most amazing women I have had the pleasure of knowing... she is sooo terribly missed.... Trace says he misses her jelly beans and licorice... and he even remembered the way to her house. "This is the way to Anna's house" He said as we drove up North Road the other day. We love you Nana!

A Drampa Story... (Grampa)

Well.. thought I would include a little story written by my dad. This all happened last night... and although he was alone out side with the kids most of the time, I did pop out a few times as did Uncle Dax, and Daddy...

"I must say that yesterday was again a miserable day for weather. It did stop raining in the afternoon so with all the company that Tara had invited I decided to use the real barbeque to do the flank steak. 
The kids insisted on staying on the deck with me while I worked on the BBQ with Jaxon clinging to me from the minute I came home. Once all three of them were on the deck and the BBQ was 1.0 million degrees they all ran around and had a great time, just me and the kids. I put the grill cleaner on the BBQ hoping to melt off the grease that was imbedded in the scraper. I thought it was all metal. Apparently not, so it caught on fire and I had to walk around with the kids running around trying to put it out using the glass encasement for the outdoor light as a water bucket. At the same time the bag of charcoal that was under the BBQ also caught fire. It was a great time and the house is still standing."


My dad finished off the night with a perfectly grilled flank steak and we all sat down to a yummy dinner! Jaxon did not let my Dad out of his site the entire evening... It is pretty precious to see! 

Vampire??

Well yesterday was an umm interesting day to say the least. It started well with my run in the morning.. followed by the boys sleeping past 6am which is always nice. I had a lot to do... the neighbor girls came over before school and although I forgot they were coming it was a big help. They distracted the boys while I made 2 dozen Enchiladas for my dad's birthday.

Once that was done I packed them off to school and packed my kids in the car with the promise of a smoooothie. Oh ya! Distraction in the car is sometimes key when you have errands to finish. Off to Booster Juice we went got one big smooth and put it in three separate Booster juice mini cups. Awesome..straws in the car.. great. After making kids promise to keep straws in cups off we went. I was to pick up some stuff from consignment and drop off some of my stuff for her to sell. Boys did sooo well with cups, or so I thought. Canaan who now sits in the back of the van seemed to be doing something to the side of his cup.. no idea. We get to our destination, they all yell ALL DONE MOMMY.. I therefore take empty cups before I run my stuff into the house. I then run back to car and we head home. Mission accomplished! I was so terribly proud of my boys. Very limited smoothie on their clothes and all seemed well. Or so I thought...

Get to the house and throw cups away.. pick up Canaan's cup and it proceeds to dump the remaining bit ALL over me... I look and there is a thumb sized hole in the side of the cup.. turns out when smoothy gets stuck in straw... must bite hole in side of cup and SUCK OUT the remains of the smoothie through the side of the cup... hence Vampire... guess that is what I get for reading the Twilight Series while pregnant with them...

Rest of the day was also crazy... locked myself in my room for a self proclaimed TIME OUT.. then loaded kids into car once again for a trip to Abbotsford to hang with The Oma and some cousins and celebrate my Daddy's birthday!

POOOOOP.... literally.

Well, had my first poop incident yesterday. Was getting ready to have some people over in the evening. While the twins napped I prepped all the snacks. I had finally sat down after a full morning of work and go figure. Twins wake up. They had maybe been asleep for just over an hour. NOT long enough in my books. So I went in changed diapers and put them back to bed.. totally ignored them while I watch a bit of American Idol. I needed just a moment to myself.

Well show over and I go into their room... and it STINKS... like really stinks. And they are NO where to be seen. I can hear them though, they are hiding in their closet. Before I open the closet I look around to make sure all is ok. All bedding is pulled off the bed, Thomas tracks all over the floor, dirty laundry tipped over. Yup looks normal... then I look again. What is that??? Is it.. no it can't be... why would it be.. but yup those are brown foot prints ALL over the floor... then I look again. Yup BIG lump of poop on the floor ... smashed into the carpet.. YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.

At that point I wanted to tuck tail and run. Not deal with it.. pretend it didn't happen. But of course.. there are no other adults here so I am by process of elimination the one who gets to clean it up. ARGHHHH! So I go and get the stain remover (Natures Miracle in pet stores is AMAZING), I grab and old toothbrush, lots of towels and to work I go. I will NOT go into details about clean up. But it is done.. and I hope to never have to do it again...

Have I learned my lesson, yes I believe I have. DO NOT ignore your children in their room no matter how much you need just a moment to yourself...

No More High Chairs.... sigh.

Well, that's it. Twins now prefer to sit in regular seats... it is the end of an ear. They have been in booster seats with Trays for the last year as I was done with big bulky high chairs. But they REFUSE to sit in them now. Well lets be honest, they refuse to sit in anything. As I was leaving the house last night to go to a Tupperware party I could hear Kyle yelling "JAXON sit in your seat RIGHT NOW" At least I am not the only one frustrated with it. But HOW does one get a stubborn 2 year to sit still in a seat... let alone 2 stubborn 2 year olds?

Gone are the days of family dinner, now it is hurry one of us needs to eat quick so we can chase the twins around and make them sit down. Now instead of one sticky chair from their hands all over it while they are eating we will have 8 sticky chairs... as they like to try every one out.. sometimes all in one meal.

Gone are the days of keeping them in their seats until we are done, they just excuse themselves... I remember when Trace started this (at 19 months so a lot earlier) and man I was very free spirited... aw just let him go. He will come back and eat when he is hungry... I just can't do that times 2... I dread every meal. I dread summer when my neighbors will really hear me yell...

Rainboots

Did you know... that if you have twins.. and decide to buy 2 different Rain boots instead of matching ones that full blown fights will follow??? I learned this today. Dressing the boys for an outing today I let them "pick" what shoes to wear. They both wanted their rain boots. We have a red pair that looks like dragons and a Thomas pair that I picked up this last weekend at the swap. Both are GREAT boots, both very cute... I watched as Canaan put on one of the dragons and one of the Thomas.. and Jaxon did the same thing. Well... fight picked by me, that was not going to happen. First off they each needed to pick ONE pair of boots either the dragons or the Thomas ones. So wrestling with the boys in the entrance way to the house I got them in their own boots. Canaan was in the Thomas ones and Jaxon in the dragon. Trace had decided he didn't want socks and put on his shoes as well.

I ran upstairs quickly to get my coffee, make it downstairs and go figure, Canaan is wearing one of each and so is Jaxon.... fight picked by me again. (Bad mornings mean more fights picked) So I switched their shoes back to match... watched them roll on the ground scream bloody murder and drip snot everywhere. Kick off boots try to take off jackets... all I could think was... hmmmm wonder how fast I can RUN AWAY from this. My neighbors car is still there... maybe she will watch them for me while I take off and have a glass of wine at 930am.

So I gave up. Watched them take off boots switch one for the other and happily put back on one of each. My three now happy boys loaded into the car no problem and off to run errands we went. Was the battle worth it... well in the end maybe not. I have a feeling that they will NEVER wear matching boots but always switch so they can have one of each. Remedy for next set up boots... buy two of the same pairs? Or at least they are the same make so they fit the same... Were they cute with their miss matched boots... I hang my head low and say yes... yes they were... and I should be happy that they are at least sharing right? Not just fighting over the Thomas boots????

Cough cough.. oops... dorry Mommy...

So the fake burping has started in our house. I guess I could blame myself. I know the rest of my family will... I am not a farter AT ALL... that I swear by.. but when it comes to belching I have to say I am better than most males. Am I proud of it.. well maybe a little.

Canaan has started fake burping lately (which sounds more like a cough) and then apologizing afterwards. Is it strange that I find it the funniest thing in the world? And that once I laugh the other 2 start in on it as well? Every time.. makes me giggle.. the kid is taking after mom... I would WAY rather have that then the farts!!!

So if any of you people reading are my close friends... and you decide to bravely have the family over for dinner, and one of the three fake burps at the table... be thankful he at least excuses himself afterwards!

In the car is a whole other story! The car is FULL of sneezing noises! I get three boys in the back yelling AHHHHHHH CHOOOOOOOOO oops... dorry mommy. Followed sometimes by a raspberry type noise and an ahhhh at the end. I swear... I love my boys and the silly things they do. Even if other people don't always get it. And even if they are pulling up beside me in traffic and looking at me like I am some strange person laughing by myself in the car!

Kid Swap.......

Unloading.. MAN it feels good! brought like 6 bags and 6 boxes.. plus other stuff to the swap today. My van was PACKED to the top, you couldn't see out the back window. I had all the carseats out and my seats folded into the floor... on the way home there was FLOOR SPACE! Oh ya! Got rid of my jogging stroller (although it makes me sad it wen to an awesome lady with 3 week old twin girls..), LOTS of clothes, toys, some bedding. Donated lots of stuff. Just felt good... the end of an era. No more little babies. First Kyle gets.. umm snipped and now getting rid of more stuff.

As each person takes on of your treasures it is a sad yet super happy moment. You get the awful mom that totally low balls all your Mexx and Baby Gap stuff... which ya so you might have overpriced.. but if she had been somewhat reasonable she might have offered you something that didn't make you spit your coffee out of your nose.

I found a few treasures too.. Thomas rain boots, a Gap windbreaker with liner, some cute hoodies and pjs for the kids! Man I love swap meets! Plus I was away from the kids for the day and my wonderful mom came out and helped! Score times 2!!!!!!

Tomorrow... bday party number 2 this year.... kid birthday season seems to be starting EARLIER every year!!! AHHHH... it will be 3 a month until Nov.. then we get a month break! I think I will start buying a gift every few days so when June comes and we have 10 bdays in 2 weeks I am prepared!!!! AHHHHH!!!!!

But I Want to Sleep in His Bed!!!!

Lately the twins have had some trouble going to sleep in their own beds... it is driving me crazy!!

I can go in every 5 minutes and all bedding is off the bed and they are both in one bed. Usually Canaan's. Last night we went in and checked on the boys before we went to bed. And for the second time (the first being when they were sick) we found Jaxon at the end of Canaan's bed all cuddled under the blankets. It had to be the sweetest end to the day.

We are also working at putting Trace to bed to bed with no light, ya he currently falls asleep with his main light on in his room We have had the big conserving energy talk, and he still wakes up through the night and turns it back on. Yes at least he puts himself back to sleep but that darn light is on.

Well the last few nights I have resorted to duct taping the light off, and still in desperation he will sometimes pry it off. Ideas anyone?

Ahh kids! Somedays i am still in wonder that I have a voice, I have to raise it above the noise of three boys!!! Thank goodness now we are officially done havi kids!  I love what I have, am thankful daily for the crazyness thrown at me and am in awe of my husband, and parents who endure it all with me!!

First Week Home

So First week home has come and gone... I MADE IT! I was spoiled last week and spent some time in the sun with my Grama, it was bliss... absolutely perfect! I relaxed by the pool, read a lot and shopped...

I got home Friday late, and after some terrible news looked forward to holding my boys Saturday morning. Turns out not only did I get hugs but also found out that the boys were getting their last 2 molars. And so began this crazy week. Lots of tears, lots of laughter, lots of memories chatted about, a million hugs and kisses, ummm just a bit of yelling... lots of toy throwing, wrestling and pushing. I am happy to be home with my family but a part of me still wants to be relaxing by the pool, swimming laps, reading books... and of courses shopping!!!

Kyle and I are going on our V date tonight, I am so excited to spend some time with my hubby. This has been a busy week!!! Thought I would ask... anyone out there know how to stop little men from throwing EVERYTHING??? Cars, trains, little people (as in the toys), books... I don't know how many times I restocked out book shelves!

Our big accomplishment this week.... TWO ... count them TWO outings... NO STROLLER with the twins!!! And one was even me and ALL THREE BOYS!!! They are growing up... I am excited for it and at the same time ...somebody stop them from growing... they are talking so much more.. don't know if I can handle three boys talking back to me... AHHHHHHH!!!!

Skype????

As some of you know, I have been away this week... YES! Away from the kids and rest of my family. I am in Palm Springs spending some time with my Grama, shopping, eating out and having fun! Relaxing by the pool, doing laps and more shopping and eating!

Well I thought it would be nice if I brought my computer along and skyped with the kids... So we set it up, dial them and yipeee I see the kidlets! There is madness on the other end, lots of MOMMMMMY, How you doin mommy? Hi Mommy!!! And other little sayings. Kyle and my mom were trying to control them but between Jaxon yelling for me, Trace trying to tell a story and Canaan trying to make out with the screen lets just say it was a disaster. So why not try it the next night. The kids moved around so much that my screen kept blacking out or freezing. Again disaster!

Moral of the story.... feel very blessed when you are on vacation to be sitting on the quiet side of Skype.

A Fake Burp....

Canaan's new favourite thing to do, now that he has his little personality back! After being sick for over a week, Canaan has returned!!! His newest thing to do is fake burp, giggle and say "oops... sorry". Now for some of you that might not know we have a fairly burpy household, yup nice loud ones! And Canaan thinks it is HILARIOUS to copy us. Same if we sneeze, he will sit there and pretend sneeze for a few moments apologizing after every time! My funny little dude, I am so happy that he has returned to the land of the living.

Jaxon is still a little off, although slowly he is returning... all things are seeming to go right until we get home from being out last night and see that Trace has a fever of 39.4.... ugh. Canaan also has a cold, as do I. We just want to catch a break somewhere here.... anywhere???

So hoping and praying for a healthy household this week as my mom is looking after the kiddies during the day, Daddy at night and Mommy is of to PALM SPRINGS!!! Oh ya!!!! Very excited! Tried on my shorts this morning... getting packed and ready to GO!!!!

You Can Call Me Ping Pong Trace....

Thank you Backyardigans...with my kids being sick there has been more tv on that usual... or at least the kids pay attention to it more than usual. Trace LOVES the Backyards (as he calls them) the other day he watched the one about the Ping Pong Bandit...he then became a sheriff. Tucked a bolt from his play tools in the top of his shirt to make a badge and walked around with a play kitchen spatula as a paddle. Seriously where does he come up with this stuff...

So we watched that same one again today (THANK YOU NETFLIX!) and now Trace is PING PONG TRACE!!! He has on his DC hat, his blue sunglasses... and yes the same spatula... and now a rubber ball as well. I would love, for just a moment, to be able to get into his little head and figure out what is going on... I think he has the imagination of his Uncle Landon.

Things are also on the ups here, Jaxon still pretty lethargic but Canaan has put down almost 4 pieces of bread today along with his pedialyte and juice! YIPEEEEE!!!!! Keep praying for a healthy house before my vacation Monday !

Mommy When I Was a Baby......

Trace lately has been telling me "when I was a baby" stories. This morning it was... "mommy when I was a baby I got sick and threw up just like Jaxon and Canaan." So I decided to play along. "really sweetpea... was it fun" .. to which he replied... "yes Mommy so fun, and we went to the doctor, and I got to drink juice" Ya ok... I am sure if he gets this he will NOT be saying it is fun. But I am enjoying the stories that is for sure. Sometimes I am very grateful for the comic relief that is a 3.5 year old and their lack of a filter. He makes me smile when I don't feel like it.

Speaking of smiling... after sleeping the ENTIRE oh ya you hear me ENTIRE night for the first time in a while, I check the monitor to see what the twins were doing. I noticed there were no blankets on Jaxon's side... uh oh.. did he fall out of bed again? I had put a foam mattress below him just in case. I figured maybe he was awake or something so I went in and checked... nope not on his bed, not on the foam mattress.. not under his bed or the train table, not under the foam mattress either... so now I am panicking.. not in the closet, not in the clothes hamper (all spots he hides). Finally I go and check Canaan's bed... yup he is sharing it with Canaan. They are snuggled up together and it has to be the sweetest thing I have ever seen.

Who knows when he climbed in, or if he woke Canaan in the process, all I know is that when they are sick and I don't always have time to comfort them.. they have each other. I wish I had my camera on me to take a pic. I hope I get to walk in on that again, warms my heart.

Ready... Set... Round 2 Here We Go!!!!!

Yup Jaxon's turn.. enough said??? Yup I think so! Slept beside his bed last night and therefor don't have to wash any sheets! Yea... if we can celebrate that??

Trace still going strong and doing awesome. HOPING and PRAYING he doesn't get anything.

In other news, t minus 6 sleeps until I head to Palm Springs to visit my Grama! So excited!

Trace has taken to putting his blocks (the ones the have little spikes that all fit together) on his feed stacked about three high. He looks like Geisha (well the shoes and how he walks does) but he slides around on them with something from his ride on toy strapped to his back. "mommy that is my JET PACK" He slides and uh glides?? all over the kitchen floor. I can always count on him to put a smile on my face when I haven't gotten any sleep and feel like crap!

Not the End of the Story....

Last post was about puke... and sorry to say this one might be a little too... and maybe not as amusing as the other. Poor Canaan decided that he was going to puke 16 times in less than 18 hours. Off to emerg we went on Saturday morning.. they monitored and re hydrated him (pedialyte). Sent us home as he had kept it all down. 

Sunday morning after 18 hrs of no puking we tried bread, nope that came up.. quite a few times.. soo off to emerg we went again. 4 hours later he was finally seen and hooked up to an IV (there were 40 kids ahead of us when walked in... not counting a few bigger emergencies). Canaan was such a trooper, slept on my lap and in my mei tai carrier. SOOO glad I still have it! After 4 hours of IV fluids we were finally sent home... and lo and behold today he is keeping food down! YIPEEEE! Hopefully on the mend and hopefully the other two don't get it. I think I am done with puke for now. And with sleeping on the twins floor so I can wake up and catch it. Although in sleeping in their room I didn't have to change any sheets!!!! 

Ok so this post was all about puke... hopefully next time it won't be!!! 

My First Post About Puke... yup... really....

Decided today was a good day for Costco. So Granny dressed the twins, we all got ready, loaded them in the van and off we went! Parked, unloaded kids, (twins in stroller, Trace running around) and headed in. Jaxon and Canaan did not enjoy the shopping portion too much but knew we would be getting hot dogs afterwards.

After paying Trace came with me to grab the dogs, pops and fries. He always pays! Such a gentleman that little dude is! We sit down, everything is going awesome. Trace dumps his FULL drink on the floor but other than that... and fry grease in Canaan's hair from Jaxon we are heading home in amazing shape!

We get the kids and costco purchases unloaded, relax a bit upstairs. Canaan is sitting next to me.. flipping through a book and just chilling when he makes this strange coughing sound.... a light switched on and I raced him to the sink and yup puked .... I blame the hot dogs... Have I ever mentioned how much I hate cleaning up puke?? Thank goodness there has been nothing since then.

Whine vs Wine

For all of you out there that have a 3 year old I am sure that you have heard the whine... it is terrible, awful and no matter how hard you wish for it, it NEVER stops! And like most things once they realize that it has an affect on you they do it more and more.... and more. I have tried ignoring it, correcting it, sending him to his room, taking away toys, sending myself to my room. All fails... soooo I have decided that my first offense against Whine is wine... yummy yummy red wine. Just a glass with dinner a couple times a week is perfect! Trace's whine might not stop but for a little bit I get to sit back and enjoy that glass of wine and forget about it.
So to all those mommies and daddies out there... how do you deal with the whine factor???
Then there is the twins and the screaming factor... that is a whole other story.. maybe tequila???

Comments

Ok so it has recently been brought to my attention that a certain friend of mine had commented on a few things in here.. and they got deleted... luckily she brought it up.. NO I have not deleted any comments.. if this has happened to you let me know either on facebook or email me at winterbottomt@gmail.com!
Thanks!!!

Really??? You have GOT to be Kidding me!!!

Trace had pre school today... and as per usual on a Tuesday I took the twins with me. Went to the states for some gas, headed to London Drugs for door knobs so they could no longer get out of their room in the middle of the night. THEN we headed to Indigo Book Store to play with toys and read some books.

I thought... no stroller, lets do this they need practice! All went well, even walking to the bathroom at Starbucks to change a diaper! I was soooo proud.

On our way out they pressed the handicap button as well all held hands and walked out, me with my head held high... look at how well behaved my boys are acting... they are AWESOME! We get to the car and I todd Jaxon in, start belting in Canaan while Jaxon climbs all over the car. I have also placed my diaper bag in the car... shut the door and walk around to the other side. Jaxon is in the passenger seat... (anyone see where this is going yet?). As I walk around the back of the van I hear... "CLICK" ... and think WHAT.... YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! My KEYS are in the car... and Jaxon has just locked me out. CRAP! So I put on my happy face and laugh as I look at Jaxon... try the door but of course.. it is locked. I look at him, bat my eyes, smile and say... " Oh silly Jaxon can you press that button again? No sweatpea not that one... the one right next to it." "PLEEEEAASE" and lo and behold, I hear a "CLICK" I fling the door open hug my kiddo and put him in his seat. Crisis adverted!

What a morning... totally thought I was going to have to call someone to open my car, or bring spare keys. NEVER again will I be doing that.

A Weekend????

Well the twins officially let themselves out of their room whenever they feel like it. For both of them that was 6am Saturday morning, and the same for Sunday with a few through the night door openings from Jaxon. We were always greeted with a "HI HOW YOU DOING DADDY?" And trust me at 3am we are NOT doing well... So a weekend of rest we did not have. Ah well... when they are older I will be begging them to wake up!
Took all three boys to church Sunday and my shy boy Trace actually went to Sunday School!!! HEAVEN! Man I was happy! Twins get to move up to the pre preschool room instead of the nursery too. I actually got to sit by myself for just under and hour and listen to the sermon and drink my coffee while my boys were looked after.
Sunday afternoon was followed by SUPER short naps due to a million poops. And many rounds of the bookshelf game. Although I might have found a solution, Canaan was not allowed to go and sit down for dinner until he picked up all 1000 books himself! My goal this week is to make the kids tidy up themselves more no matter how long it takes them. Lets see how that turns out.
Oh and mom challenged me to go a month without yelling and instead whisper to make the kids pay attention.. it will be the hardest 50 bucks I have ever earned!!!

The Library Field Trip

Ok so I was pretty much in tears today. Took Trace to pre school. Twins got to stay with Granny which was nice. So we show up at the Library, Trace is fine... as we enter the smaller room that we are going to have circle time in he FREAKS OUT!  Tears in abundance, I am trying to calm him down, chat with him, sooth him anything... he cries for over 10 minutes before I give up and we leave. I have NO idea what is going on. So we head to the Safeway next door and pick up a few things for dinner while he calms down ( I am near tears ). Lucky for me Trace decided he was ok to go back in... and flipped the 180 and was super happy but I just don't get it.. Anxiety over a new place? Is he so overcome by his shyness that he is freaking out? Anyone else have kids like this?

Twins... total opposite, they walk into a room and run away from me half the time. They play (and not always together) and seem just fine. I just wish I could get into Trace's head and find out what is causing this....

The Book Shelf Game

YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME.... AGAIN... please someone put me out of my misery. I leave the room for 2 minutes, hear a HUGE ruckus and head back in to fine... yes every kids book taken off the kids book shelf. I am not talking about 10 or 20.... I mean like over 50. Maybe even 1000.. or at least that is what it feels like. There are cars EVERYWHERE (I heard them chucking them around while I was cleaning up breakfast) And the ENTIRE contents of the kitchen are on the ground. I am going to loose it. I have no patience left in me they have used it all up and it isn't even nap time.

To top it off two nights ago I thought that one of the kids swallowed a metal marble from one of Trace's toys (that we keep locked in his room) I had been talking to Canaan when I realized something was in his mouth. So I asked him to spit it out.. yup metal marble. AWESOME. So I go and count them... I only found 4, and you betcha we had 5 the day before. So I have spent the last 2 days digging through poopy diapers to look for the other one. Today after I cleaned up books for the second time, and the cars and the kitchen (I don't know why I bother), well I realized Canaan had something in his mouth... so I asked him to spit it out...out pops the 5th metal marble... Where the HECK was it hiding... ah well.. no more poop digging...

Oh and another ps.. as I am typing this Jaxon is sitting nicely on the stool next to me, Canaan has pulled him off, Jaxon slammed him chin on the counter and they are currently beating each other up... awesome...

Thank You Kung Fu Panda

HIIIIIYAAAAA!!!!!! Mommmmmy HIIIIIYAAAAAAA!!!!! Ya thanks Kung Fu Panda.... why did I ever think that pvring that movie would be fun for the kids... Trace currently loves to wave his arms in the air and yell Hiiyaa.... then Jaxon follows suit... Canaan is too cool for school and just watches. This means lots of hitting followed by crying.

We made a snowman the other day in the front yard... yup you guessed it, the snow man got hiiiiyaaaa'd put back together and hiiiiyaaa'd again. Jaxon was doing this to Canaan two days ago, and Canaan had enough so he kicked Jaxon in the face. Kicking in the face trumps kung fu panda... Jaxon was spitting blood. Sometimes I wonder if I can just be a fly on the wall in my house instead of the Mom.

And to all who read that out there.... how many of you actually made the HIIIIYAAA noise every time you read it?

Pre-School Girlfriend

Well in November Trace informed me that his best friend at pre-school was Cameron... or so I thought. Turns out Cameron is actually Camryn. A very sweet, curly haired, blue eyed little blond girl. All he talks about is her, they play together during class, sit together in circle time and I was told he even rubbed her back during circle time when she was upset. In December Camryn went on a vacation and was not there.... the teachers informed that Trace would walk into class and look around like "what is the point Camryn isn't here". I was lucky enough to meet her mom and chat about the little friendship.. turns out all Camryn does is go home and talk about Trace, and looks forward to seeing him every class. She talked about him to her grandparents the entire vacation and was pretty excited to see him in January.... ahhhhhh he is starting just as early as him momma! My first "boyfriend" was in pre school as well!!!!

Well lets hope the twins start a little later!

Mommy vs Trace

Wow he is strong willed... this morning as I am drinking my coffee I find Trace DANCING in the kitchen... so I ask him "Trace do you have to go potty" Trace responds with "NO MOMMY" and proceeds to start crying. I am greatly confused by this and at the same time distracted by the dancing and penis grabbing going on... the kid obviously needs to pee... So I grab him and take him to the potty. There is some kicking, yelling and screaming going on as I sit him on the seat, more crying and hyperventilating happening as I tell him to pee... Then all of the sudden go figure he is peeing and not only that he pees for a while. Eyes full of tears he looks up at me once he is finished and says... "haha Mommy I DID have some pee in there..."
Huh go figure.

A Snow Day

It snowed last night. Kids woke up a bit later today.. Trace at 615 am, Jaxon at 845am and Canaan at a whopping 9am!!! Very exciting for our house. Who knows what Grampa did while he babysat last night but they slept in and that is all that matters.

This morning we woke up to... "wooook mommy snow!!!!" All three were very excited. So I got ambitious and dug out three pairs of snow pants, 3 warm jackets, 3 pairs of gloves and 3 pairs of boots. Jaxon was the total trouper, no tears as we shoved him into all this gear, Canaan although screaming the whole time was also successful in getting dressed. Trace, no go... so we left him inside to watch us from the windows. Which he did with this VERY sad look on his face. Jaxon and Canaan loved the snow, stomping through it and making the karate chop hiiiiiyaaaa sound whenever they threw a snowball.

After a few minutes I came inside and asked Trace if he wanted to get dressed and he did. After he finally made it outside he proceeded to throw snowballs, karate chop the snowman and make snow angels! I have to say watching them play was well worth the pain in the butt of bundling them all up.

Now we are all inside, Thomas is playing lunch will be made soon followed by my favourite time of day.. NAPS. Everybody needs to get rest, who knows what is in store for this afternoon. Jaxon has already been playing the pants game....

AMAZING!

So on Facebook yesterday I came across someone who had shared this 25 Rules for Moms with Sons.  love it! Some things made me laugh, some things made me say YAHHHH!!! Lets raise boys who are not afraid to share feelings, that know that they have a support, who are loved unconditionally. That learn to love a woman not just for what she looks like but who she is as a person... I can only hope that as my boys get older that they will be proud of their decisions, and learn from their bad ones. And that I will have the strength to let them make their own decisions.

I struggle daily, when they want their independence, to do it BY MYSELF MOMMY. I can't believe how they are growing up, don't want them to grow up and yet am sooo darn excited for all of the adventures to come.

Today we dropped Trace off at preschool and headed to Indigo to play with Thomas... go figure Canaan had such a huge tantrum we had to leave. Anyone know how to combat the "mine" stage. I feel bad they have to share everything, and then when we go somewhere and they have to share with yet another person they FREAK OUT. So packed them up and out we went. Picked Trace up and I put ALL kids down for a nap ahhh a rest for me. But before the nap the kids decided to head into the play room, dump 2 bins and empty the kitchen... yea me...

Peanut Butter and Jemmy

Lunch of choice on a regular basis... when I tell them it is lunch and give them a few things to choose from PB& "jemmy" gets the biggest cheers. It is a staple in this house, Trace would have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner if he could. If I would allow it.
Today was no different, Jemmy brought cheers and so it was served, along with apple slices and milk. The twins must have their crusts cut off and into triangles whereas Trace has been requesting a Monster Truck lately. I have cookie type cutters for this thank goodness! Lunch is my quiet time, I pick up a book, or come to the computer while they eat. And as much as I enjoy this going back to clean them up afterwards is not always easy. Trace is finally to the point where he doesn't make a mess and it is NOT all over his face each time. Jaxon and Canaan... TOTALLY different story. Canaan LOVES to smear jemmy all over his face, in his hair and usually his fingers are stuck together, Jaxon has turned into a neater eater of the sandwich lately. The apple slices are  a totally different story. He treats them like a watermelon. Eating the inside of the apple and leaving the skin. Sometimes biting and spitting out the skin all over the place. I find it on the floor, in his hair, his diaper and all over his tray. Usually this is remedied by our dog Whiskey... but not lately.. Whiskey (as per vet instructions to find out what is wrong with him) is not allowed table scraps, this makes my cleaning much more challenging.
After lunch is usually a crazy mad rush to play with and demolish as much as possible before naps. They dump the play kitchen stuff, the hot wheels cars, the little people all over the floor and leave them before I cart them to their room for nap.... ahhh nap.... 19 minutes till 1pm and I can hardly wait!

The Pants Game

Wasn't going to write again today but couldn't help myself... Seems a though Jaxon and Canaan have thought up a new game. The Pants Game.

How it is played:
Boy pulls down pants and waddles around the room. Yelling Daddy pants (for some reason I am Daddy lately not mommy) giggling and laughing as they waddle and most of the time fall down.
Sometimes the pants come off completely but most of the time amongst a fit of giggles Mommy pulls them back up... only to look at the other boy.. who has his pants down. While I am pulling up those pants the first boy pulls his down again...

This went on for 2 hours this afternoon.. needless to say they both ended up with their pants in timeout... game over... and Mommy declared the winner.

Outnumbered....

To start this blog off I thought I would introduce myself... I am Tara... a daughter, sister, wife, best friend, and mother of three little men... (four if you count my husband). I have always been told that I would never have girls, which I thought was awesome. No frilly dresses, no pms, no leg shaving, teaching how to put on makeup, and all the other "fun" stuff that mommies of girls get to go through.

In 2007 I married my best friend... and in 2008 our first son was born... by Aug of 2009 I was 19 weeks pregnant and found out.. yup identical twin boys... guess I got my boy family after all (And my husband got his Forward line in hockey)! And then we went home... this was when I realized just how outnumbered I really was.

I have another blog that I started when I first got pregnant with my eldest Trace, but didn't think that the name was as relevant to our current life. So here I am starting a new one... a warning in advance, I am not a whitty writer, I write about what is going on in our lives, the silly things that my boys do and how they drive me bonkers DAILY! These stories may contain poop, puke, snot, mud, gunk, funny things that they say or do and everything else in between. I am hoping to keep up with this one and blog at least every other day. I want to be able to look back and go... THANK GOODNESS we are past that stage.