Aloha & Happy Halloween!

Hi G&G! Happy Halloween from the chicken and the princess! Hope you get this in Honolulu. Have a fantastic trip! We miss you! Mahalo!

Love,
R&B

Justification...

...for my filthy house:


The cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow
For children grow up, as I've learned to my sorrow.
So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.
I'm rocking my baby and babies don't keep.


Does it still work if your "baby" is almost two????

Braggin' on B

There are so many reasons to brag about this little guy but I will just include my top five here:

1. He is up to some four word phrases including my fave, "I love you, Mommy".
2. At 23 months he has accepted his new soother-free lifestyle and is moving on.
3. The incredible amount of energy he has which seems to be renewed daily!
4. For a not-yet-two-year-old he actually shares pretty well.
5. His good looks are only out-shined only by his friendliness.

Wonder - B

Our little guy is nearing two.

It is really easy to tell. He has all the makings of a two year old wonder.

He now often speaks in two word combos.

He throws himself on the ground if he doesn't get what he wants.

He tries to make jokes and says, "Knock, Knock" but when you respond "Who's there?" his punchline is "Funny!" and then he laughs his head off.

He insists on eating with a certain blue spoon and none other will do.

He says, "potty" but then when you go to take him he refuses to sit on it and rather relishes in the power he has to make you plead, bargain, and kajole him to sit on the potty. He loves to toy with us.

He has taken to calling me by my first name (with a cheeky grin).

Yesterday, we were leaving the grocery store and he was a step behind us. When I turned to find his hand I realized that he had climbed up on the seeing eye dog statue (that is actually a giant piggy bank for donations). He was straddling it like a horse yelling, "ride" and trying to spur it on with his knees.

Poor little guy is currently enduring the loss of his soother, aka "soo-soo". He is on day three of suffering the terrible injustice. I have almost crumbled every day and given it to him but like RKA says, it would be like giving crack to a junkie.

Yes, he is very "two" right now but he is also very "B" and very much my son. So we are just rollin' with it and trying to enjoy his energy.

Weird Science

We did a little "science experiment" today where we put some little things in water and they are supposed to grow to 600 times their size in ten days. They were in the clearance section at the craft store...so far there has been no change. R & B are expecting big things so I hope it works!

Pumpkins

I must admit that as a kid I never really liked Halloween. At three years old I remember spending the evening of the 31st hiding under my bed when trick-or-treaters came to the door. It was too spooky for me and the line between fantasy and reality was just way too blurry. It didn't help that I grew up in Northern Canada where you always had to incorporate your snowsuit into your costume which can really curb the creative juices. In any case it was never my favourite holiday.

Pumpkins, though... I've always loved pumpkins. Searching for the perfect pumpkin, scraping out the guts (getting that familiar itchy, slimy feeling on your arms), designing the face, roasting the seeds, and finally watching nervously as Mom and Dad wield the huge knife to carve out the jack'o'lantern face. Then the search is on for an appropriate candle for the jack'o'lantern and some matches to light it. Eventually, it is perched on the front stoop to beckon the trick-or-treaters. Yes, the pumpkin is definitely my favourite feature of Halloween.

RKA actually loves Halloween and he really loves pumpkins. He goes all out planning his designs and he always carves more than one jack'o'lantern. After a month of perusing the web and taking our input he spends the afternoon of the 31st at the kitchen island drawing and carving. The results are always crowd-pleasing. Looking forward to seeing what he comes up with this year.

One of the traditions we have started with our kids is "ghosting". It is a phenomenon that is more popular in Eastern Canada but I think it should be popularized out west as well so we are doing our best to start it in our own little neighbourhood. The kids love it because they get an opportunity to try out their costumes. So we suited up tonight and went ghosting. Okay, so we semi-suited... B decided he was only going to wear his "chichen toat" and not the pants. R decided to only wear her crown with her pj's. Then we walked around the neighbourhood to deliver some goodies and this poem (and a large picture of a ghost):

YOU’VE BEEN GHOSTED!!!!

Late last night, we left you a treat.
The tradition is fun, one we hope you'll repeat.

Take the ghost and pin it on your door,
to let others know, you need ghosted no more.

Now it's your duty to pass on the surprise,
to two more families, we must advise.

Gather some treats and deliver them soon,
within two nights, under the light of the moon.

Include a ghost with each package you give,
along with this poem for the tradition to live.

It is a fun tradition and it was particularly hilarious tonight because B did not understand the concept of sneaking and being quiet. He really wanted to ring the doorbell and when I told him not to then he decided to knock on the door and shout "Hellooooo?". So our next door neighbour actually caught us before we snuck away. Darn chichen...lol. Good thing he is so cute!




So it is as a parent that I have come to appreciate the festivities of Halloween. You won't find me hiding under the bed this Halloween!

Guts, Grit, & Glory

If you ask me it takes guts to even sign up for a marathon. To have the intention to run 42 consecutive km. That's gutsy. I don't have the guts for it. But my husband and my brother do so I spent the weekend supporting them at their first marathon. Crazy fools.

So it was me, RKA, my bro, and his buddy (I'm a crazy fool for going on a road trip with three guys but that's a whole other story)...

If you spend six months training for a marathon event this is the standard look of nervous excitement and anticipation:

...and this is how you look seconds before the start if you've spent the six months leading up to the event without training:

But in any case, you all start off together:

I found that marathons require patient spectators. Finally, after about 4 hours and 40 minutes I saw a gait I recognized. RKA came running towards the finish line. I waved and cheered and took pictures of his accomplishment. I was so proud of the grit that RKA put into his training and into his marathon.

My brother on the other hand saved up all of his grit for the race itself. He literally ran it cold. I don't think he even stretched. His goal was to finish in the maximum time alotted which was 5 hours and 30 minutes. Everything was going okay for the first 25 km and then his trick knee got a bit tricky...His good buddy (who was sidelined with an injury) joined him from the sidelines at around km 34 and cheered him on (suitcase in tow). My bro still wanted to reach his goal of finishing in under five and a half hours. It was 5:29:02 when I finally saw them appraoching. My bro looked at the clock and saw 5:29:22 just started bookin' it. It was literally a race against the clock.

And after absolutely no training and preparation at 5:29:54 my bro earned the distinction of being the last marathoner to cross the finish line within the allowed time:

...And I stood on the sideline laughing and taking pictures of these crazy fools.

The elite marathoner who was the first to cross the finish line came in after 2:23:23.
But, I'm pretty sure they all got the same medals...and they all got the glory!

Shout out to G&G for taking care of R&B this weekend - Thanks!

Cornucopia

Balance

Balance is one of those buzz words that gets tossed around. Especially in mommy circles. How do you find balance, create balance, maintain balance???
I definitely don't know the answer to that one.

I am actually starting to think that maybe balance is over-rated. I had the house to myself tonight and I spent 6 blissful hours tonight laying in bed with my cat devouring a novel. Front cover to back, only getting up to go to the washroom. Skipped dinner. Skipped laundry. Skipped cleaning bathrooms. Skipped phone calls. I simply indulged in one of my favourite past-times. And I feel no guilt. The laundry will get done tomorrow. The bathrooms will be cleaned one day. Friends will be caught up with soon. Nothing was that pressing or that important that I couldn't just retreat. I hibernated like an unbalanced recluse.

So do I "have balance"? No, definitely not... my days are centered around the agendas of a toddler and a preschooler. Tomorrow I will probably be back to chasing little people around the house like an un-hinged lunatic, begging them to put socks and underwear on. But allowing myself to fully indulge in life's little pleasures like the occasional good book makes me feel balanced and the illusion of balance is good enough for me right now.

As you can see R finds her balance in the little things while for B he is most zen when wearing his gumboots with shorts.

Mompetitors

I just came across these videos and I had to laugh. Hard. And then share.
I think everyone probably knows a mom like this. I also love the term "mompetitors".

*reminder: scroll down and pause my music player before pressing play on the video




Check out this link for more in the series:

www.xtranormal.com/watch/7148143