blessed

today i felt very blessed.

my good friend jen watched the boys while i had a 2 hour dentist appointment and then texted me telling me to take my time coming home and that the boys were having a great time. (always good things for a mama to read/hear.)

then another friend dropped by and gave me a beco baby carrier. just gave it to me. she knew i was researching getting one and using it now, but especially while we're in africa. i was astounded. and amazed by her generosity. 

then my boys played relatively well this evening and to top it all off i have a hot husband who loves me and thinks the world of me for some reason! 

today i felt very blessed.

jude loved being in the beco. i did a ton of dinner prep with him on my back during the "witching hour" where he usually would whine and hover around my ankles, hoping that i'd pick him up. it is perfect.

freshly baked

cookies. 

yum.

whole wheat cookies with dark chocolate chunks and toffee bits.

i've come to realize that sweets and baking will always be a part of my life. 

it brings me joy to bake it and it brings me joy to give it away and bless others with it. {and eat it, too.}

a life of measuring out proteins and carbs will never bring me joy, nor will it be sustainable for me.

i am a curvy lady.

and i'm learning to love myself.

i'm also learning to be a food snob. 

only eat what i love. 

use moderation.

exercise.

love who i am.

stop comparing myself.

sweet tooth

if there's one thing that's always true for noah, it's that he loves sweets.

tonight daddy offered him a special dessert: coconut cream pie and strawberries.

perfection.

our street

this was the view down our street when we got home at 11pm tonight.

oh snow.

uncle sam

today we drove into toronto and spent a fair bit of it at my sister and brother-in-law's house.

noah used to be intimidated by uncle sam at first, but now that noah's a rambunctious little boy he thrives on the airplane rides, wrestling matches and general rough-housingness. 

good times all 'round.

yellow

a few days ago jamie came home with some groceries and yellow roses.

just because.

i like flowers "just because". 

they're probably my favourite kind of flower.

i put one of the roses in an empty maple syrup jar.

it's currently on my kitchen window sill. 

Friday Morning

This morning we all piled into the car and went to the optometrist for Noah and Jude's eye appointments.

I had been prepping Noah for the last couple days about what would happen in the hopes that he wouldn't do his usual grumpy face, refusal to talk and occasional shouting or frustrated screaming.

And it went really well. Both boys loved the waiting room with the toys and little chairs.

Then Noah wanted to sit on the "special chair" and he let me cover his eye (I had prepped him for that) while he told the doctor what the shapes were (he did really well!).

He really liked the projector images in the dark and his eyes seem to be doing well. 

Jude did pretty good too although he didn't like the light being shone in his eyes after a little while (I completely understand) and both boys were highly entertaining and polite (mostly) to the doctor and the receptionists.

**I just remembered this and had to add it: So at the end of the appointment, Noah got to pick something out of the "prize box" and he picked a bouncy ball. He then proceeded it to whip it across the waiting room and it went over the counter and down the well-endowed receptionist's top. I looked at Jamie and could tell he wanted to laugh SO HARD but was working really hard at moving on and not focusing on it. Seconds after we got out the door guess what the first thing was he brought up and started hysterically laughing about? Uh huh. Ball down the top. Classic.

My appointment was a bit later on so I dropped Jude and Jamie off at home and Noah and I went back for my appointment. Noah didn't handle that as well as the first one, but it was close to lunch and I had just let him eat an entire package of fuzzy peaches (what? you don't bribe your kids? psh.) so we worked with it.

And the doctor was very understanding and friendly and a Christian as well, I discovered. So that was a nice surprise. 

It was a good Friday morning. Now if I could only get to the gym. And stop eating cookie dough.

delivery

it came!

i won a kitchenaid mixer in a contest i entered. ecstatic does not even begin to describe it.

snow day

snow day!

i did not take one step outside today. 

and i'm completely fine with that.

Interview with a 3 year old

1. What is something mommy always says to you?

"Noah?! And I say "Yes Mom?" and I come and then I run away.

2. What makes you happy?

An interview.

3. What makes you sad?

A not-interview

4. What makes you laugh?
*makes a funny noises* "that makes me laugh."

5. How old are you? 

I don't know. Seventy years old, Mama?

6. How old is Mommy? 
5 years?

7. How old is Daddy?
7 years old! 

8. What is your favorite thing to do?
PLAY!

9. Who is your best friend?
Elijah W. and Hannah B.

10. What do you want to be when you grow up?

A clown! No, a soldier, Mama.

11. What are you really good at?
Getting toys out. 

12. What are you not very good at?
Not very good at standing.

13. What did you do today? 
Watched tv.

14. What is your favorite food?
POPCORN!

15. What is your favorite song? 
Jingle Bells

16. What do you want for your birthday this year? 
I just had my birthday!

17. What is your favorite animal? 
A sheep. "Maaaaaa"

18. What is love? 

I don't know. Love is your heart. Love in your heart makes me happy.

19. What does daddy/mommy do for work? 
I don't know. He works.
Count. (I'm confused.) 

20. Where do you live? 
In Guelph.

21. Where is your favorite place to go?
To a jingle bells party!

22. What is your favorite toy?
Your computer.

23. What is your favorite story book?

O My Dinosaurs

24. What is you favorite colour?
Pink and Green - I mean, pink and red.

25. What are you excited about?
smelling your flowers. 

Today Noah is 3 years, 3 months and 8 days old.

haircut!

i took the plunge today and got jude's hair cut. 

he wailed the.entire.time.

and he was even sitting on my lap!

what a kid.

now i'm kinda sad.

but he looks like a little boy now.

bye-bye baby jude.

hello buddy jude!

Muffin Tin Monday: green and beige

my lovely friend tamsin reminded me that i have not done a muffin tin monday post in forever.
so i was inspired to get at it again.
here was today's masterpiece:

Top row: sugar snap peas, lucky charms, french fries
Bottom row: banana, baby cucumber, popcorn chicken {or as Noah calls them, baby chicken popcorn}

I did take out the lucky charms before giving this to him because I knew he would eat them all first and then not eat anything else. And it worked. He ate everything! And was quite pleased with his reward of lucky charms afterward.
Seriously, some days I feel like I can't get enough food into him. Other days he eats next to nothing!

Three year olds. Honestly.

reegs

today had a bright spot in it {to be honest, the last part of the day kinda sucked. big time. i might blog about it later. we'll see.}.

my dear friend, regan, celebrated her 30th today. she didn't know she was going to celebrate it today {since her birthday is on the 3rd of february} when she woke up.

reegs {and her beautiful family} live in windsor so we don't get to see each other as often as we would like. 

but she was in town and this surprise party was co-ordinated and so i went to see her and it was lovely.

happy birthday you beautiful lady!

regan and her daughter keziah and regan's brother russ who also shares the same birthday as regan.

winter hike

sometimes i have these grand ideas in my head. 

like today i wanted to go on a "family hike" down this path.

i knew it would be all wintery wonderful and we could bring the sled and get all bundled up.

seconds in, noah refused to walk and wanted to sit in the one-child sled. 

then he wanted to walk.

then jude didn't want to ride in the sled. {he's not so much into the cold weather - he just gets kinda miserable.}

and then noah didn't want to leave.

and i felt

frustrated.

but then we worked it out. 

noah and i kept hiking and exploring our winter wonderland and jamie and jude went back to fill up the car with gas and get a {much needed} car wash.

sometimes life isn't what you hope for, but it's definitely what you make of it.

i just need to remember that more often.

sleep

lately while jude naps, i'll read in my bed with noah. he "reads" his book, and i read mine {currently re-reading harry potter and the order of the phoenix}. after he's done with his book he'll quietly whisper or sing to himself {today he was doing some sort of bed-gymnastics} and then he quiets down and falls asleep within seconds. {jealous.}

it's really sweet. 

i enjoy these quiet moments with him.