Gender Schmender

There is no doubt about it, this little boy loves his baby.

 

 

This is the Day....

It's a busy place around here. Hence my hiatus from this space for the last two months. With a four year old and 18 month old, our house is none stop GO. We are having lots of fun (more on this in a future post) despite, or maybe because of, the hecticness, and are enjoying the moments as they fly by. Our house is clean for a nano second, the piles of paper (mostly bills and crafts) are growing like weeds, the dishwasher is running more than it is not and I do about eight loads of laundry a week (between ski gear, three outfit changes a day for a little boy who loves to play in the sink, and cloth diapers). Today was our most chill day of the week. My sweet girl was at school, convinced by pizza day that it was a good idea! So, me and my little man had the house to ourselves. We played with cars, made music, ate clay and coloured. In the midst of it all, I threw in laundry, cleaned the kitchen and started the dishwasher (sound familiar?!). After a quick run to the basement to change over the laundry, I returned to the top of the stairs to the sight of this. I laughed with all my heart, I may have even snorted! Can you blame me?

***If this post makes no sense, has major spelling or grammatical errors or is just plain crazy, I blame it on the fact that it was written while two kids climbed on me and fought over who got to sit on my lap!

Hooking up with SouleMama for This Moment.

This is the Day.....Chest Deep in Bubbles

There is no better way to close off the weekend, and a long week of nasty colds, weakened bodies and fragile minds, than a giant warm bath of bubbles. My kids played, explored and laughed with all their hearts tonight. All of the last week just washed away. Thank goodness for that.

Hooking up with SouleMama for This Moment.

Non-Stop Talking, umm, Learning

Having our four year old home sick for the last two days means that our house has been full of non-stop talking for the last 48 hours. I have learned a lot!

Our conversations have gone like this....

1. This afternoon during some down time:
"Bub, I was thinking of putting some music on, but your singing is so nice, I don't want you to stop. Would you like to keep singing or have some music?"
"Music is good. I will keep on singing and they will sing back."

2. When daddy got home for lunch today:
"My bike has a flat tire."
"Why dad?"
"I guess I am having a day of bad luck."
"You're lucky dad, you're home with us."

3. At random, several times today:
"I have hockey sticks coming out of my ears and feet."

4. Yesterday morning, after having her first dream she could recount:
"There was a fire in my room. It was so loud. Were you out grocery shopping, mom? Didn't you hear the fire?"

5. In response to her little brother's increasingly mischevious ways:
"I think he needs a time out."

6. Today at lunch:
"The only thing I don't like is peas....I don't like cucumber."

7. During another random exchange:
"That's incredible! Incredible is a bad word. Do you think that?"

8. A sweet little snippet shared between dad and daughter today:
"Dad, I wish you were a girl so you could be mom."

9. Again, totally at random, but said with such sweetness I can't take it personally:
"I really love dad now. Remember when I didn't like his hair? I love him now. I love him the most. I love him more than you."

10. While singing this afternoon:
"O! Canada, we stand on R30 (a homeopathic cream we use). Mom, how can you stand on R30?"

Despite having a tired, sick, quick to cry kid by my side for the last 48 hours, I have had so much fun having my sweet girl home with me, always teaching me.

Hooking up with The Good Life for Monday Listicles and what you learned in 2012. I have learned enough in the last 48 hours to make at least a list of 10, a whole year could sink a ship!

Stitched Together

(My) life is like a patchwork quilt. 

 

Each day is a different material, some happy, some drab, some vibrant, some tattered, some beautiful, some a combination of all of these things.

 

Each day is stitched together with a long thread, woven in and out, overtime connecting the days into a patchwork of years. 

 

I love that my sewing literalizes my life. Like life, sewing is about dreaming, planning, cutting apart, stitching together and creating.

 

I love all of my sewing projects (well, most of them!), but there is something so satisfying and balancing about making a quilt. For the last couple of months, I have been working on a quilt for a little girl made of upcycled clothing from her first year. I have loved the puzzle of this project, taking apart a myriad of tiny outfits, laying them out, layering them, stitching them together and finding the perfect balance.

 

Custom quilt made with upcycled clothing from a little girl's first year of life

(My) life is like a patchwork quilt.

Ten Firsts With My Second Born

Last week, I wrote about the Ten Firsts With My First Born for Monday Listcles. This week, I wanted to take some time out, really think about and share ten firsts with my second born.

1. The first time I knew your little being existed, I was full of joy.

2. The first time I saw your sweet little profile, I was reminded of how much of your own person you are because you didn't look like your sister, even in utero.

3. The first time I felt you kick, I was so thrilled to experience that feeling again.

4. The first time I thought about being a family of four, my heart felt a little achy and nostalgic for our family of three.

5. The first time I thought about the friendship that would bloom between you and your sister, I felt so excited for you both.

6. The first time I realized you were not going to be born early, but instead take up camp past 40 weeks, I was both relieved and so impatient to meet you.

 
7. The first time I *saw* that you were a boy, I was overcome with emotion and might have lost my mind just a little bit.

8. The first time I held you, I truly understood that a heart can stretch and grow to hold infinite amounts of love.

9. The first time we snuggled through the night, you were peaceful down to your core and I knew you were a sensitive little soul.

10. The first time our family of four was together, I felt like everything was right in the world.

You, my second born, my sweet lovable monkey man, you have stretched both my heart and my world, and you have made me see that "firsts" are there for us to expereince everyday, if we just take notice.

Hooking up with The Good Life for Monday Listicles (just a few days late!).

This is the Day.....Soaking It All Up

This is the day....

my little boy woke up and seemed two inches taller then he did at bedtime last night.

He woke up, stretched his lengthening limbs, knew more, ran more, said more, explored more.

This is the day to soak it all up because, as the old saying goes, this time will be gone in the blink of an eye, and before I know it that car will be real, that cellphone will look ancient and my little boy will be a man.

Hooking up with SouleMama for This Moment