From now on, I'm in there!

I read an article last week that made made an impact like nothing has in a long while. I'm sure many of you have seen it being shared around Facebook. It's an entry at The Huffington Post by freelance writer Allison Tate called 'The Mom Stays in the Picture.' Allison writes about being at a family event where her son begged her to take photos with him in the photo booth. She didn't want to because she was not at her best, still holding on to some baby weight. Not dressed in her cute clothes. She goes on to talk about how so many moms avoid being in photos preferring to take them instead. She makes a case on why we should be getting in the pictures because our kids will value those pictures when we're old and gone. This is a crude summary and doesn't do her beautiful words justice but you get the gist. Her account is moving and had me in some serious tears reading it. If you haven't already, take a few minutes and read it yourself.

I really connected with her message because I am one of those woman who have very few pictures with the kids. Look back at this blog. It's not very often you see pictures of me, especially in the last year or so. When I do ask someone else to take the camera for a change I end up deleting their efforts 99% of the time. I just can't stand the sight of myself,  I couldn't care less about whether I'm wearing cute clothes, or if my hair is done. For me it's all about the weight. I've talked about it before when things were going well. I've posted about my good intentions earlier this year. Unfortunately, that and a couple other well meaning tries have ended in miserable defeat and a few more pounds. I just can't seem to get myself together and photos just show me how far away I've ended up from where I want to be. Reading Allison's words makes me realise that I'm being very selfish. Like she says, the kids don't look at me and see me as their FAT mommy, I'm just Mommy. The woman who snuggles them at bedtime. The woman who dances with them anywhere they feel like dancing. The woman who loves them for just who they are. So maybe I should give myself the same courtesy.  Not that being overweight  obese is a good choice, and I still want to fix that one big negative in my life but in the meantime this mom is going to get in the picture and stay there. I don't care how fat I think I look, how many chins you can see. I'm going to be in that picture.

In honor of Allison and my kids, I created my own photo booth like shoot. We had fun and I got some good shots. And I don't hate any of them. I look happy. My kids are smiling. That's what I want them to see when they look back when I'm gone.

 

Happy Birthday Isaac v 2.0

Dear Isaac,

Today, at this moment of this post, you turn 2. In the last few months you’ve transformed from a little baby to a little boy who can keep up to his big brother with very little trouble. I really realised that a few weeks ago when all of sudden you were making it to the top of the play place with him instead of just playing in the entrance like you always had. I looked up and you were coming down the slide which you had never been able to get to before. I was very proud of you in that moment.

 I have so enjoyed this year with you. You are at that age that everything is adorable and you are cuter than most. But of course I may be a little biased. You have a huge personality and are a child of highs and lows. I call you my little drama queen and I’m sure there are many fits and tantrums to come in our future. But with those fits comes enthusiasm and obvious joy and excitement for things that make you happy and I love that about you. You also love to cuddle and hug which I take advantage of any chance I get.

 We are all very impressed with how smart you are. You can already name most of the letters and numbers. You can count to 10 and you know all your colors. You have an amazing memory too. I usually only have to tell you once what something is called and you remember it. You are talking in full sentences and for the most part are now speaking English. For quite a while you spoke mostly Isaac-speak which meant only we could understand you.

 Isaac Speak Glossary:

Na-na Thank you. pronounced Nach (german like sound)
Titi- Courtney and Kirsty

Tooky- Cookie

Kee- Car
chuck-truck
Anoo- Airplane
ato- Oliver Pronounced Auto
Amo- Oma
Apo- Opa
Tac tow- Tractor
Bit bits- Ritz Bitz (your favorite snack)
And- Sandwich
Tooky Paws- Bear paw cookies

 Things I want you to know about your 2 year old self:

-You never go anywhere without a dinky car in hand. You call them all Twin mill 3 which is your favorite Hot Wheels car from the Oliver’s Wii game.
-You love books. If I don’t now where you are in the house it’s a safe bet that I’ll find you in your bedroom with a book on your lap.
-You’re one tough little man. You rarely bat an eye when you fall down and scrape your knee or bang your head. But if your hands get dirty you’d think it was the end of the world.
-I don’t know why but every night you take your blanket and lay down outside your door and go to sleep. I can’t imagine it’s very comfortable but it’s your thing. You’ve been doing it for about 2 months now so maybe you’ll grow out if it soon.
-This year’s go to food is a Cheeze Whiz sandwich.
-My favorite Isaac quotes of the year: You at 14 months saying ‘Mmmm, Taaa-sty’. And you holding out your hand for mine saying "rha'mon' when you wanted to me to take you to the 'Peen' (aka: Trampoline.)

So here’s to you Mr. Smiley Pants. You are such a special little person and I look forward to seeing your smile every single morning. I'm enjoying every moment of being your mom.

Happy Birthday
I Love You
Akuluk
. 

Mom

X0X0X0

 

My little lumberjack at 1 year



My 2 year old little mischief maker.

 

FREX

FREX- Fredericton Exhibition

Also known as a sure sign summer is over.

As a kid I always looked forward to the exhibition just before school starts. I'm a lover of thrill rides although I have to say that the rides they had at the Ex when we were kids were much more exciting than what they have now. One thing that hasn't changed is the crazy amount of money you spend before you've paid for one ride ticket. No wonder we always had to beg to get mom and dad to take us. Luckily we are only catering to a preschooler and a toddler so they are pretty easy to please and don't need to stay all day.

The petting zoo was a big hit.

'What's going on!!?!!' O's favorite Scrambler quote.

Illegal roller coaster ride.

Isaac (with a little help from me) won the round we played and walked away with a stuffed shark.

You may notice the caption on the roller coaster picture. You had to be 36 inches to ride so the plan was to let Oliver go on himself. At the last minute I asked the ride operator if Isaac was too small to go on. He said that as long as he would stay sitting down, he was welcome to go along. He was thrilled to be able to go. He was raising his hands and giving the operator high 5's as the car went by along with the other kids. There were probably a few adults wondering who the crazy parents were that let their baby go on the roller coaster but I'm glad he got to go. He loved every second of it and asked to go again when they were done.

Now that we've been to the Ex, school can start. My baby starts Preschool on Wednesday and he's nervous and excited. Where does the time go?

Happy September all!

Science East

This past weekend we had planned to join another family for a camping trip. Unfortunately, mother nature had her own plans that directly opposed ours so Saturday morning we took the kids to Science East in Fredericton instead.

When we went in they told us to: Touch Everything. We took that to heart and even though I'm sure the science was lost on them, it was awesome to take kids somewhere that you say Yes, Go ahead instead of always No, No, No.

We had a great time.

Mattress Vs. Hardwood. HARDWOOD WINS!

Isaac has developed a new, very weird habit.

He insists on falling asleep in the hallway. He'll hang out in his bed for a while after I put him to bed but inevitably I find him here.

Even at my sisters house.

Every single night.

We even moved his bed over so it's right by the door thinking that would be close enough to make him happy but nope.



Camping

Nick and I decided long ago that when we had a family we were going to be campers. We had originally thought it would be a good way to get away without spending alot of money. Now that we have that family, we're realising it's also great way for us to spend quality time together without all the interruptions of TV, computers and the other sort of media our family is so addicted to.

This weekend was our first foray into the world of tenting and we made it back alive and in one piece. Dirty, tired, and a bit sunburned but in one piece. We took the kids to Jellystone campground in Woodstock NB which seems to be THE place to take your family as per many of my Facebook friends. It's a campground that caters to the kids with games, activities, playgrounds, water slides, pools and hayrides with Yogi Bear. Since we had no idea how it was going to go we thought going somewhere where there was lots to do might be a good first time place. At least we wouldn't have to try very hard to keep them entertained. I'm happy to say that the weekend went very well. The kids loved our monstrous 20 foot tent that was almost too big for our site and ran around in it all weekend. They especially loved the dual water slides and we took turns racing each other with each kid. Oliver and Nick played mini golf and Isaac made a friend with the little boy at the next campsite. We even got lucky and got to be the first ones on the hayride so the kids got to sit right up front with Yogi which was a big treat for them.

I don't have many pictures to share of the weekend because there were many water activities and then I also forgot my memory card. I did manage to get one on Saturday but had already missed many good photo ops. Here are some of the few that I did get.



The 20 foot tent wasn't a typo. You send your husband out for a tent and he comes back with a house.

They were having a 'Christmas in July' theme while we were there. These people really went all out including poinsettias on their picnic table.

I was disappointed that I didn't bring any lights or decorations but we just didn't have the extra room. We got to enjoy these across the way instead.

Yogi's nightly hay ride.

Apparently Yogi is Oliver's favorite bear. He told me that although you couldn't tell by the look on his face here.

Tank did really well with the exception of throwing up all over the the top of the tent as we rolled it out to set it up. I'm glad that wasn't an omen for what was to come over the course of the weekend.

The kids ate nothing but PB and J and Cheeze Whiz sandwiches all weekend but I didn't argue as long as they ate something. 

Our first time was a success and we will be going again soon. I do need to figure out how to pack more efficiently so that we can drag less stuff along with us. We need to leave room for very useful things like the coffee and Ice cube maker.

We said we wanted to be campers. Nobody said anything about roughing it.

Backyard Fun

All tied up

My little Drama King

Isaac couldn't be more different than his brother. Oliver is incredibly laid back and Isaac, well, he's very emotional and dramatic. These types of outburst happen more often that I would like but you can't help but smile when he sticks out his lip, covers his face and whines like someone just kicked his puppy. 

If I remember correctly this wail/cover you face/fake crying session was because I told him it was time to get in to the tub. If I was smart I would have grabbed the video camera instead of my Nikon. His dramatic protests are hilarious and cute and would have made a great movie. What I was actually trying to capture was him sitting in the sunlight and the contrast of the dark room.

On that note, please ignore the picture quality.... And my horribly dirty floors.

A snowy Easter

Like many of you out there the Easter Bunny had to borrow Santa's sleigh to get his deliveries done this year. We woke up to snow, snow and more snow. This was a rather disappointing thing for me because we got the boys bikes and I was really hoping mother nature was going to change her mind so they could get out and enjoy them. But she didn't. So we put the bikes in the garage so that we could give them when the time was right... like when it stopped snowing maybe? Lol on me, it snowed all day!

Luckily the egg hunt was a success.

It seems impossible to get a smiley picture out of Oliver lately. Apparently his smile is a trigger to his need to jump up and down and flail his arms around. So I have a choice of a blurry smiley picture or a crisp scowl.

I didn't think Isaac liked chocolate since I've never been able to get him to eat any. His massive intake this weekend (much of which he snuck) has proven my theory very wrong.

Finally we found the right moment to give the boys their bikes:Two minutes after the plow went by the house. At least that way we could get out and go around the block once before we were all completely soaked from the wet snow.

Every time Isaac sees his new toy he says bike, bike, bike, bike. At this point I can push his with him strapped in until he's able to push the peddles himself. Oliver's is a Lightning McQueen bike and it was a big hit. He's been talking for weeks about wanting a big boy bike and it took everything I had not to give it to him a month ago.

I hope everyone had a good Easter.

Baby no more

My baby is 18 months old today. Where does the time go?

Isaac is doing what 18 month old's do. Testing his limits, getting in to absolutely everything and doing his best to talk. Most of his words are understandable only to us but he's getting better.

I'm trying to savour every moment of what baby-ness is left in him cause this is it, the last baby I'm going to have. I'm mourning it yet happy that I don't have to strategically plan my showers anymore.

Party and Puppy Love

It's been a rough day.

I'm hung over.

I'm tired.

But I had a fantastic night!!

Last night we hosted our closest friends for a house warming of sorts. It was so much fun to use our open concept living space exactly how we pictured it when we saw the house for the first time. I loved that I could be in the kitchen cooking, while still being part of the party. As always my favorite part of the night was the jam session. We're blessed to have a couple very talented musicians as friends and we always ask them to bring their guitars when we get together. I love to sing and my favorite is when they play Barenaked Ladies or Blue Rodeo since I know all the words to their songs. The big problem is that my singing would rival some of those amazingly bad auditions on American Idol. It shows you what great friends I have. They never tell me to shut up and let me do my thing.

The boys enjoyed having everyone around too. So many people to give them lots and lots of attention. I'm amazed at how Isaac is coming out of his shell lately. He wasn't shy with anyone and was greeting everyone with his huge 'HI' as they came in the door. His favorite guest by far however was Kuma. Every time she came around he was all over her with "rubbins and nubbins" as we say around here.