the lazy days of spring

Today I was treated to a most fabulous surprise - an entire 8 hours all to myself.  When I heard the great news, my first intention was to hit the gym, run some errands and clean the house..... but I ended up napping for three hours (not consecutively).  Housework was kept to a minimum and only one errand got done.  

So I had a pretty lazy day but the kids have been busy.  Here's a picture of Leo taking a break from his latest achievement.  He started walking on Monday, May 20th.  I think he's beaten Ruby by an entire month.  She walked a couple weeks before her first birthday.  He's only 11 months!  

He's so proud of himself and Ruby seems proud and happy for him as well.   I'll get a video up here soon.

Leo may be walking ahead of Ruby but she has him beat in the tooth department.  She had six or seven teeth by now and he still only has two!  Poor guy... you can tell that he's close to getting more and I'll bet a bunch will pop at once.... just when things were getting good at night, here comes six teeth.  Great.

Thanks mom and dad for taking care of the kids today.  It was a gift that I really needed.    

may two four

While the weather of late has been mediocre at best, the sun did come out long enough for the Grants to head down the road for a walk in the woods.  We're lucky to have Centennial Park so close by and I hope to take advantage of it more and more this summer.  Pretty soon the water park will be open and I'm sure Leo will enjoy it too.  He's getting pretty close to walking on his own and he's definitely up for any adventure we throw at him.

In other news....... Ruby no longer naps.  She 's been not napping for about 2 weeks.  I don't push the issue anymore.  I don't even ask.  My theory is - if she's tired she'll nap.  She sometimes falls asleep in the car which leads me to believe that she is in fact tired and lord knows I see the crankies a lot these days.... but, there's a battle of the wills going on and I don't have the energy to fight it.  The other day, out of the clear blue sky while at Grandma's house, she asked if she could have a nap.  Go figure.  This is one of the million things I will not understand about kids but will have to endure over the next..... eighteen years or so.   When do they leave home?

So, on this cold, dull and rainy holiday Monday, I'm going to squeeze in a nap while Leo is sleeping.
Fingers crossed that it's a long one!


........ is wasn't long.  30 minutes.   go figure.

i'm forty happy mother's day

I guess a big birthday happened in our family.  Well, two big birthdays actually.  My dad turned 65 and I turned 40.  I can't believe he was only 25 when he had me but that's a whole other train of thought and I can't go down that path right now.  I'm on a mission to write about my kids not now crazy having two kids by the age of 25 must have been or how having three kids by the time you're 30 must have been.... not to mention raising three kids on a single income..... Focus.  Focus.  Focus.  

Here's Ryan and I at my 40th birthday party.    

Ryan is 37 years old in this picture.  I'm 40.  

My friend Aimee graciously offered to host a party (since our house is tiny and we have two little people).  She also offered us her spare bedroom for the night.  I accepted both offers and therefore, April 27th was my very first night away from my kids... Ever!   No kidding.  Ryan's been all over the world but I've been here, at home, every single night for three long years.  This is not  a complaint I'm simply stating a fact.  Or, maybe it is a complaint.  Sue me.  

Here are a few shots:

Aimee and the 40-year old me.  

Manon and the 40-year old me.  

Brad, Terrie, Don, 40-year old me, Cody and Aimee.

The party took place a few days after the actual birthday.   Here's what we got up to on April 24th. 

So that was the big 4-0.  I don't feel any different.  These kids are wearing me out, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel approaching.  Leo will be walking soon and with that brings a different dynamic yet again.  Ruby has started to realize that he's not just for pushing and shoving, but that he can be fun to play with as well.  Thank goodness for that.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, young and old, tired and well-rested.  You deserve a break today and I hope you get one.

-LG ox

actually and other bits

Here's an old post that I never got around to finishing or posting but want to save for the memory..... 



There are no pictures to go along with this entry but I wanted to jot down a few of Ruby's current sayings as well as an update on what our little man is up to these days.... 

Somewhere in her travels Ruby picked up the term "all right" and has been using it liberally.  It's very likely that it came from me... and it's oh so adorable.  When I reminded her we were going to get her hair trimmed today, she replied "all right".  When I ask her to get in her chair or come with me or put her boots on, "all right" is her go-to reply.  She also uses a firm "yes" quite often and that too is adorable.  

She told me today as I was trying to claim my hat, "actually, it's mine!" 

an unexpected adventure

To say this weekend didn't quite start off as planned is an understatement.

The adventure began on Friday at lunch time when Ruby declared:  "Mommy, look!  I have a sunflower seed in my nose!"  She was more than thrilled about it and I honestly thought it was funny too but tried to be an adult and hide my smirk.  She was correct indeed.  I could see the sunflower seed in her right nostril..... just far enough away that a finger or q-tip wouldn't reach.  I asked her to blow and this is where Ruby's poor nose-blowing skills came back to haunt me.  And just like that it was gone, sucked up her nose.  Poof.  

She was totally fine and I forgot about it for a while.  I was busy getting myself and the kids packed up for a trip to Sackville where Ryan and I both had dentist appointments that afternoon.  When we arrived I phoned telecare to confirm what I should do about the 'seed situation' and was told that Ruby definitely needed to be seen by a doctor.  

Great.  

Since we were in the tiny town of Sackville we decided to take Ruby to their tiny hospital hoping that a smaller population would translate to a shorter wait.  We were dead wrong.  DEAD wrong.  

We waited for 5 hours only to be told by a very strange doctor that he couldn't see the seed.  He referred us to the ENT in Moncton where we waited another hour and a half on Saturday morning.  This particular Dr. Giberson was very friendly and downright awesome, but he too told us the seed was AWOL.  I know I should have been happy but after all this time, all this waiting around, I was kinda hoping for a little action.  A little digging into her nose to capture the seed that kidnapped most of our weekend.  But, just as quickly as the adventure began Friday at lunch time, it ended Saturday at lunch time.  

Here's some of what we did to entertain ourselves as Friday day dragged into Friday night.  We were  feeling rather silly as you can clearly see.

A special congrats goes out to Ruby who was brave and well behaved through the whole ordeal.    One good thing about choosing the small hospital for our five hour wait is the fact that we basically take over the joint.  We walked (and ran) around that place for hours.  We were definitely good entertainment to the other poor souls waiting along with us.  When it was our turn, Ruby let the doctors look up her nose without even squirming.  No tears, no fuss.  I was truly impressed.  What a brave, silly little girl.

Honourable mention goes out to Leo who dealt with a forced separation from his mommy for what seemed like two entire days.  I really missed the little guy.  I really, really missed him.  So, in an effort to include Leo in our  family adventure here's a video of what he's been up to lately:

Now, for Pete's sake, no more doctors for a while guys.  Enough already!

Just found another video of Leo.  This one was taken by his Poppy.  They were having fun while the three of us were sitting around the stupid hospital:

friends and trucks

The other day on the way home from dropping our books off at the library, the kids and I dropped in unexpectedly on some friends... right around 4:30 p.m.  Yes, completely unannounced at happy hour - the hectic and most often not happy period of time before supper when kids are hungry, moms are exhausted and supper exists in a state somewhere between a thought and a reality.  Can you believe my nerve?  I hardly believe it myself but was so dreading another long afternoon in the house.  Luckily, we were welcomed with open arms.  That's the power of true friends.  My hope for my kids is that they grow up to be good friends (with each other) and that they make and choose good friends along their way through life.

It was during this visit that I realized something - Leo has no trucks.  He needs a few Big Boy Trucks.  The last few toys we've brought into the house for Leo have been hijacked by his sister, so I may hold off a bit before starting a truck collection.  And, the Spring Clean-up in May is going to help make space for a few new toys.  

.... back to friends... 

I spent the day with a special friend yesterday.  Ruby and I started out at the mall where we got a smoothie and tried on some shoes and sunglasses.  Then, we headed over the Crystal Palace only to find that they don't open until noon.... so we played in the kids book section of Chapters for a while before coming home for lunch.  She begged to have a nap with me in my bed, which failed, as I knew it would, but it was a fun 45 minutes of being 'tucked in' nonetheless.  Then we played outside in the back yard, make birthday cakes out of play dough and headed back to Crystal Palace after supper.  

My best buddy and our birthday cake creation.

Having more one-on-one dates with Ruby is top priority from now on.  We had the best of times.  It was pretty special for me.  She was so good and seemed so grown.  She is growing up fast and I don't want to take any of it for granted.

one slimy Easter

I apologize in advance for my choice in terminology, but this Easter weekend marks the snottiest few days we've experienced as a family to date.  The snot levels reached a peak today and I'm hoping the worst is behind us.  The next few hours will be telling.  I got Leo down to sleep minutes ago and Ryan is just coming down from Ruby's room.  

So far so good. 

I guess it started about a week ago.  I got it first, then Leo.  Ruby was next.  Ryan has escaped, so far.  Just as we were making head-way with Leo's sleeping situation at night.... he's back to waking up very sporadically all night long.  Poor guy is coughing and all stuffed up.  He really can't fall back asleep on his own.  This morning there was so much dried snot on his face that I gave him a bath after breakfast.  Poor, poor little Leo.  Aside from the cold, he's doing great!  His personality is developing and I think he'll be giving Miss Ruby some competition in the drama queen department.  He's got spunk, that's for sure.  

Despite the cold temperatures and the colds in general, we had a lovely Easter Weekend. 

Friday, we enjoyed a lovely walk in the park across the street.   

On Saturday morning we painted eggs before heading out to Sackville.  Not only did we dye the eggs, we literally painted them too!  It was so much fun.  Ruby has been painting every morning since.  Painting paper, colouring books, wooden toys....  the kitchen table and chairs.

The egg hunt on Easter morning was so much more fun this year than last year!  I'm not sure who loved it more, Ryan and I or Ruby.  I can't wait until next year when Leo can get in on the action too.  

Sunday afternoon we headed to my parents house for another delicious meal and gathering.  Leo had is way with my mom's front window (not sure if she has discovered the mess yet... but she will!).  

The sun came out Sunday afternoon and it was actually quite warm.  We were outside for a bit without coats.  Ruby and I had a picnic lunch on our front steps before nap.  It's so nice to get outside with less clothing on.  Spring?  Are you here?  

Happy Easter to all... and to all a good night.  

 oxox

P.S.  Here's Leo's latest trick: