what the?

Ok… so it's April 28th and still bitterly cold outside.  In the past few days we've had freezing rain, hail and I had to take out my winter coat, mitts and hat.  Not impressed.  I've been successful at getting the kids on board with my hatred of this awful weather too.  This morning Ruby insisted on wearing her little black shoes instead of rubber boots and her reasoning was, "it's supposed to be summer Mommy."
Yes Ruby, indeed it is supposed to be summer.  Another reminder of how much kids really do absorb from their environment.

Both of our kids are doing amazing and life at the Grant household has been full of changes.  Spring officially came last month and despite the nasty weather, we have managed to get outside quite a bit.

" Yipee!  I don't have to wear snow pants today!! "

Park fun. 

Park fun again.

The biggest change to strike the Grant household has been my going back to work!  It all happened quite suddenly and we managed to arrange daycare for Leo within the family, so once again, it's been a huge blessing having such amazing grandparents who live close by.  I have to admit, I often dream about moving away… back to BC or to some amazing land with sun and mountains…. but in situations like this, we are so thankful and feel blessed to have our loving families close by.  What would we do without you?

I'm employed as a Constituency Assistant to an MLA in town.  Yes, politics.  Who knew, right?  Me either.  But, it's going very well and I enjoy every minute of it.  My boss, Mr. Chris Collins is quite something and I have high hopes that he'll win the election in September.  If that happens, I'll have a job for a while longer.  Fingers crossed. 

A wise and very dear friend said to me, "it takes all kinds of situations to make a family work" and so our crazy situation is this:  Leo stays with his grandparents in Sackville for Sunday and Monday night.  Ruby stays here and we get to spend some special time with her.  I've always felt somewhat guilty about having Leo so soon.  Ruby was only 21 months old (younger than Leo is today!) when he was born.  She was still a baby herself.  So… these two days with just Ryan, me and Ruby - it's pretty special.  I love it.  And…. at the same time, I miss Leo terribly.  I think about him all day long and hope he's doing ok.  I know he's fine and if I had sent him to daycare we would all be feeling even more guilt and longing.  It's a time for growth.  We're going with the flow.   Leo's will his Nana and Poppy who we know are taking the best ever care of him and that's all we can ask for.   We love him even more when he gets home on Tuesday after supper.   My mom is picking up Ruby from school every day (except Friday because I'm off - yes, long weekend every weekend!).  I was stressed that she would be stressed with having the two of them on Wednesday and Thursday because I know first hand how challenging it can be… but she assures me it's fine so far.  Unless I hear otherwise, we'll stick to this plan until September.  

My birthday.
Leo is 22 months.  Ruby is 3 and a half.
I'm 41.
I'm growing out my hair and it's painful.

So, there you have it.  Not much has happened in this past month, yet so much has changed.  Can't wait for the nice weather so I can get outside on my bike and running with the kids.  If anyone out there knows somebody who can make our winters shorter and summers longer, please let me know.  I'm pretty desperate.

P.S.  Here's a glimpse of what happened Easter morning.  It was the first time I actually had chocolate eggs and it will be the last for a while.  Neither kid ate any real food for the rest of the day.

It's a bit long but cute.  Ruby is especially excited and Leo, stuffed with chocolate, is his typical cool self.


Cheers and good night!
-L ox