Made my day!

This morning was a Playschool morning. I really dislike Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Getting Adam dressed and ready before nine is like pulling teeth. Not to mention that I have to get dressed too! I much prefer to stay in my pj's until I shower. So this morning was like any other Playschool morning. Taylor was grumpy and wanted a nap, Adam was dawdling, I was a mess.

We were just headed out the door, when Adam said to me "Mummy, you are beautiful"

My jaw dropped! I was wearing my favorite pair of track pants (my lulu's!) I still had my pj top on, hidden by a hoodie, my hair was not brushed, but just thrown into a ponytail. I was putting on my thongs (flip-flops!) and holding Taylor on my hip. I was disheveled to say the least!

But he told me quite simply that I was beautiful.

Needless to say, he made my day.

I am blessed enough to have an amazing husband who tells me that I am beautiful every day, not only in private, but in front of our kids as well. I am in awe of the fact that Adam has picked up these complements from Ray and I talking to each other. And he knows how they are used. After he told me I was beautiful, he asked me if that made me smile.

I love how his aim with everything is to make someone smile. I am blessed to have the two sweetest kids...just like their Daddy :)

Adam the Philosopher

We had some errands to run yesterday in Edmonton, so after Taylors morning nap, we got into the van and started the 1:15 minute trek to the city. Adam was chatting away to Taylor, when he asked me if we were going to see Spiderman. *You know, the 'running guy' on the treadmill on HWY 2? A few months ago he was dressed as Spiderman...this became the highlight for Adam of our long drives! Sadly they changed him to a hockey player for the Olympics...but he is still referred to as Spiderman!* I said "Yep, we will be going past him"

Adam then informed me that he wanted to go underground where Spiderman lived. I answered that Spiderman doesn't live underground (I like to think that I have some knowledge concerning boys cartoon characters!). He told me that before Ray and I were born, he (Adam) was Spiderman and that he lived underground, and then when he was born he became Adam.

I was quite impressed! So I asked him what was going happen when he died? Would he go back to being Spiderman?

This seemed to be something that he hadn't thought about yet. He was quiet for about 2 minutes (And for a 4 year old, that is an awful long time!) then he said..."I will come back alive again" I asked if he was going to come back as Adam or Spiderman? Another long pause...."No, I will be alive Adam"

So there you have it. I am not sure what you would call his theory...it isn't quite reincarnation...but hey! I had no idea that a four year old would even think about that stuff!!! So now I know...we were superheros...all of us...once upon a time :)

Four years ago today...

You made your way into the world. It was the day that our lives changed forever. It was the day that we began to exist outside of ourselves.

Adam is quite the character! He loves to pretend play, and I often catch him talking to himself in different voices. He loves to sing, and writes his own songs already. He is a dancer. He attempts to breakdance, but it never really works out right :) He loves to give cuddles and kisses. They are his favorite (mine too!) Whenever he catches me being sad he come up and gives me a cuddle and asks me if I am happy now. He loves Taylor. He tries to play with him, and gets so excited when Taylor does something new. He even has taken over bathing Taylor! He is very polite (most of the time!) and mostly well behaved. Although he does have quite the temper when he gets going (doors slamed, throwing himself on the ground etc). He LOVES shopping, and always asks if we can 'go to one more shop'. He has a collection of quarters for the gum machine...although someone always seems to forget to get some out when we go out...hmmm I wonder who that could be!

His favorite part of the day is when daddy comes home! He loves the 'fighting' game, where he and Ray wearing boxing gloves and hit each other. It normally ends with Adam crying because Ray got carried away...but Adam gets some fine hits in there too (normally around the ears while being on Rays back!)

And while I often refer to him as dork, dag, weiner, goofball, crazy, loopy, sillybilly. He is my boy. And there is always a point during the day where I find myself watching him in amazement. Yes, this time may not come until he is fast asleep, but it still comes. And in that moment nothing else matters

Every year at this time (ie Adams birthday) I find myself reflecting. As soon as I woke up this morning (and for once the kids were still sleeping!) I said to Ray "this time four years go, we were at the hospital!" Then we have a chuckle of how fast Ray leaped out of the bed when I calmly informed him that I needed a towel!

For me, Adams birthday is a mixture of sadness and joy. I can recall most things leading up to the birth. But I don't have 'those' memories. The memories of first holding him, when I first heard him cry, even checking to see if he had all of his fingers and toes. My memory is hazy from about 5 minutes before he was born, to almost 10 months later. And when his birthday comes around, I am reminded of the big chunk that I have missing. I know I was there, but at the same time I wasn't there. So I am a mixture of emotions today...however Adam only has one...GLEE!!

Catching Up

I know it has been a while. Now that Ray is around again it seems that my mind doesn't over-think so much...which isn't a bad thing!

We had a quiet Easter, had a 'party' in bed with the boys. Which of course resulted in our bed being covered in chocolate and drool (mmmm!). Then we went over to Jesse and Sarahs place for an Easter brunch and our egg hunt. We stuffed ourselves silly, and then the kids worked it all off outside for the rest of the morning. It was nice to just have a lazy day of it, and just enjoying being together.

Adam was back at playschool this week after spring break. He got to go on a Lion Hunt. Thankfully he told me they didn't find any Lions in town, but ended up playing at the park. He loves going, and thinking of himself as a big boy that goes to school. I don't even get a 'goodbye' when I drop him off! He doesn't attend a local dayhome anymore (he was going once a week), so I have lost my 'Adam free' day...now I will have to attempt the grocery shopping with both kids (something that my sanity has not allowed me to do in a while!)

Taylor is becoming quite the big boy. He took his first three steps on Tuesday night! He has tried it a few more times since, but I get so excited when he walks, that it gets him all excited, and he falls down giggling and has trouble standing up again! He is quite the character. His personality is really beginning to show through now (or maybe I am just beginning to pay more attention!). He is very curious, has to check out everything around him and is always busy with something. He wants to much to be like his brother. He watches everything that Adam does, and you can see the envy in his eyes. He has taken to eating Rays breakfast with him in the mornings...just like big boys do! It is quite the sight to see them sharing a bowl of mini-wheats.

Rays work has picked up a lot again...I think he got about six phone calls the other night about jobs! But thankfully he still makes it home at night (well most of them anyways!). He has even written a new song, about teenagers who think that they are cool. The idea actually came about on a date night that we had while walking around West Edmonton Mall. I like knowing that I can still assist in his inspiration! Although I am still waiting for a romantic love song (that isn't about large women!). I think I will be waiting for a while yet!

And me? I am just the same. I haven't been able to work on my two half-completed murals for months! With Ray working, and band practice, and now my babysitters going and getting themselves jobs out of the home, I have been slightly limited! I will get them done!! In time for the kids to grow out of them and want something else! I have been contemplating doing the murals on canvas and then framing them so that they can be taken when people move. that way I can work on them at home...although this will involve working on canvas the size of the wall, and at the moment, I have no where in my house to do that! I guess I will keep thinking!

Well the little Banshee is screaming at me for something (it is a very effective way to get someones attention!) so in order to save my hearing I will leave it there :)

What makes a man...

I remember when I was little and not being able to wait until I was 'grown up'. I was one of those girls that walked around the house in my Mums shoes, and of course when helping with the laundry tried on my fair share of bras stuffed with socks.

My kids seem to be following the same path. Adam loves to shave with Ray using his melted plastic fork/razor (Ray made it for him!) talking about how long his wiskers are getting. The other day while enjoying a drive out to see a job that Ray was quoting, the boys and I were waiting in the car. Suddenly Adam told me that he had to go pee. Now he just being a three year old, I wasn't sure how imminent this need was, and I didn't want to find out. We were parked in someone front yard, whom I had never met. Ray was inside somewhere. There were men working outside, so I couldn't let him pee on someones front yard, and I wasn't about to walk into someone else's house! So some quick thinking was required.

I looked around the van...I spotted numerous empty drink bottles, and I remembered Ray telling me some stories. I wont go into detail...but I think you can use your imaginations!

So not being able to think of anything else. I told Adam to pull down his pants, and that he was going to pee into the bottle. Excitement spread across his face! The deed was done, and I was so impressed that there was no mess at all!! Thankfully I used a bottle that had a lid! When Ray was done, and got back in the van I told him what had happened. He suddenly beamed with pride. And told Adam how big he was now that he had peed in a bottle.

Yes, my 3 year old has taken the first steps to manhood...peeing in a bottle :)

Mornings

I am not a morning person. I love my bed, I love the luxury of being able to lay in there in the morning and just relax. Now with two boys that doesn't happen very often! But thankfully Ray knows how much I love my mornings and he gets up with the boys when he gets ready for work, and gets some time in with them. But Ray has been away working these past three weeks.

So along with missing my snuggles and having someone to keep me warm at night, I thought I was going to miss out on that extra 15 minutes in bed each morning.

So I was shocked when, in the first week Ray was gone, Adam had to be woken up to make it to playschool on time, and Taylor was just perfectly happy and quiet (that NEVER happens!) in his bed. I got my time in bed!

That made my days start off a lot nicer, and we all know that when Mum is happy...everyone is happy!

Well the second week didn't start off the same way. Adam would wake up and go upstairs and put on a movie. Then Taylor would wake up crying, which in turn woke me up.

Now this part might seem really mean, but Taylor cries for everything...EVERYTHING! And the moment he is picked up he stops. So in the past nine months, I have become somewhat desensitized. I can easily block it out. I know that he is fine, he isn't hungry (he is not a breakfast boy...weird!) and he is safe in bed.

So I lay there in bed, in that awake, but not awake mode. Taylor screaming down the hall. Then along comes Adam, crawling in to bed saying "The sun is up Mum! It is morning time!" I normally respond with a grunt! Then off he goes into his brothers room, turns on the light and says "Good Morning Taylor-Bug" Taylor responds better than I do, with a giggle! Then they play. Adam puts toys into the crib (he used to climb in there, but since we have been putting the side fully up, he can't) and they play together. All the while I am lying there listening to my two boys giggling together.

I love waking up to that...actually sometimes I even fall back asleep :) Then once the giggling dies down, and they both get bored, I get myself up, and we begin our day.

I am so lucky to have two boys that love playing together. I am so lucky that they seem to understand that Mum needs to get out of bed in her own time. And I am so lucky that my husband understands my love for the bed!

Things I love

1. Laundry. Yes, laundry. I love how it is always there to do. It is always sitting there, whispering my name. Free time? Do some laundry! I also really enjoy how it seems to have doubled since Taylor was born. I find comfort in knowing that no matter what...it will always be there.

2. Renovating. I love it. Why else would I be going through it all again. And there is one thing that is better than just plain old renovating. Living in the house while you are renovating...add to that a crawling baby and you have bliss! The dirt, dust, paint, tools, screws lying on the floor, all adds to the magic. There is just something about being able to see the 'bones' of the house you are residing in, especially when you are lying in bed. Throw in a few safety hazards and I am one happy woman.

3. Drywall. Not only does drywalling pay our bills (most of the time!) but it adds a little 'something-something' to our daily life. We have begun to use drywall buckets as household decorations. I currently have two sitting in the entryway-complete with tools. I love going into the bathroom and seeing the paint sprayer in the tub soaking. It is a wonderful way to start the day. And my favorite. When Ray puts the drywall tools in the van, like last night when we drove home with a bucket full of putrid smelling water/tools. Heavenly.

4. Having a sense of humor. Without it...I think it is pretty safe to say that I would be locked up, and in a home with padded cells :)